Wicked
by SoapQueen89
Summary: Updated Chapt 30-33! Sequel to The Storm - The storm rages on in the city of Port Charles, the mob wars escalate between Zander and Jason and it's every man for himself, regardless of family ties. Zander, Emily, Jason, Ric, Alexis and others.
1. Default Chapter

Wicked is the sequel to The Storm. This story picks up where The Storm left off at the end of Chapter 50. Wicked is being exclusively posted at the Heart of ZEm message board, until now. I suggest you read The Storm before beginning Wicked.

**Chapter One**

The rain pounded hard against the windows and the thunder rolled across the midnight sky as Zander sat in the wooden rocker just rocking himself back and forth. It had seemed to become routine for him to be restless at night, not being able to sleep, he had guessed because he had alot on his mind. He had yet to come to peace about his father's death, the only father he had ever known, and his killer still walked free from the responsibility of taking the life of another. His mind still wondering about the what ifs and where he would be at that moment if had known his real father, how would his life be different. His mother, would she still be running looking over her shoulder or would he have had the chance to live his life with her in a loving home the way a child should. His mind took him to an off distant place and it startled him back to the here and now as the lightening cracked outside. The storm raged on outside as well as inside him as he sat and rocked himself hoping to find some sleep tonight, and hoping that he would be able to come to terms with all that had transpired.

As he rested his head back against the wooden rocker, he closed his eyes in the hopes of some peaceful rest, but he knew that wouldn't come to him, not with all the memories of his past still haunting him. His past still very much lingering around him, and he wished like every night before that he could just rid himself of the demons. As he sat there resting his eyes, not keeping them closed for very long because of the images that flashed before him of Sonny and what he had done to his mother. Whether he liked it or not, Sonny was his father, he was the bastard child of rape, there was no denying it, it was staring him in the face every night since he remembered what had happened that night.

Zander had sworn when his son, Devon, was born that he would never become neglectful of him or never raise his hand to his child, he would always show Devon love and understanding, respect and honesty and he would never tell a lie to his child. He would never leave him, like his father had done. He figured what his mother had said to be true ..... any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy to a child. Zander had that with Frank. Frank was his father in every respect of the word. Frank was there to guide him, to listen to him, to give him all the love and support he needed growing up. Frank was the only father he had known and Sonny took all that away from him. Frank was dead and Sonny killed him, those were the facts, yet Sonny was not behind bars, he had not suffered as he had for the past 15 years, Sonny took no responsibility for what happened that night and it was time he did.

Zander sat and watched as the storm raged on outside the window, lightening flashed across the darkened sky and he could hear the thunder rolling above him. He wondered to himself why his mother seemed to recognize Emily's family, she hadn't mentioned the name Quartermaine as he was growing up, it intrigued him that his mother would have some connection to the most influential family in Port Charles. He was sure she wasn't about to explain it to him, he would have to find out on his own, what he wanted to know .. if he wanted to know. He wondered what deep dark secret his mother might be carrying around with her for all these years. It didn't make him feel any better to know that someone else besides himself, carried their own demons within them, he just hoped he could rid himself of his one day.

He was startled by the cell phone ringing in his jacket pocket and went quietly to answer it. He slipped out of the bedroom so he not disturb Emily who was sleeping peacefully, and he walked down the stairs before flipping the phone open and saying hello.

"Do you have any idea of what time it is?" he said to caller.

"I'm sorry sir but this can't wait." the voice replied.

"What can't wait Thomas?" Zander asked when he recognized the voice belonged to his foreman at the warehouse.

"Turn on the television, sir."

Zander walked into the living room and turned on the television and turned it to the local news station to see what was so important. As he stood and watched the news broadcast, his body tensed up and anger began to fill him up. He listened to the reporter at the scene and clinched his fist as the story unfolded in front of him.

_"The criminal activity here on the Port Charles docks came to a head tonight, once again. Shots rang out on the docks earlier this evening and two men are dead, a few others were taken to the local hospital and are said to be in critical condition tonight. The Port Charles police are investigating this latest war, but are not releasing the names of those victims of tonight's attack. We will know more as it becomes available to us."_

Zander turned off the television and focused his attention back on Thomas who was still hanging on the other end of the call.

"I need details and I need them now, Thomas! This war has got to stop, there has been too much bloodshed already." Zander demanding to know what happened.

"I'll see what I can find out." Thomas replied.

"Yeah you do that and report back to me as soon as you know anything." Zander flipped closed his phone and then ran his hands through his hair in anger.

He rubbed his hands along his face and sighed deeply. The latest attack was sure to bring more focus on him, something he didn't need after all that had happened over the past few months. More security was indeed the next step, he wasn't going to take the risk of losing his family and all of what he worked so hard to keep.

The rain still pounding hard against the windows, and the thunder rolled across the sky, it seemed the storm had been letting up just a bit, he thought, until a crack of lightening lit up the sky surrounding the cabin and the lights flickered. The storm had not let up at all, it just became more wicked.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily laid her arm across the bed and felt the coldness of empty space. Her eyes flew open and she realized her husband wasn't laying next to her. She slid out from underneath the blankets and shivered as the cold morning air surrounded her. She reached for her robe and slipped it on to dampen the chill before searching for her missing husband.

Emily made a quick check on Devon, he was sound asleep in his crib and she closed the door quietly. She made her way to the stairs and took a few steps towards the landing. As she came down the steps, a smile came across her face. She stood and watched for a few moments, Zander so peaceful and relaxed as he slept on the couch in the living room. She bit her bottom lip and held her hand against her stomach as she walked down the steps wondering if she should wake him. She left him sleep a little longer as she went into the kitchen and brewed a fresh pot of coffee.

She turned on the small television that sat on the counter as she walked in and turned on the local network, hoping to catch the news. She went about getting the mugs from the cupboard and making fresh coffee, not really paying attention to the broadcast but listening to what the reporter had to say.

_"Organized crime in Port Charles is once again under the watchful eye of the Port Charles Police Department and the District Attorney's office, after last night's fatal attack on the waterfront. As we reported last night 2 men associated with organized crime are dead, and at last count 4 others are in serious condition at General Hospital. Police are still investigating the attack last night, but sources say it all started in the warehouse on Pier 52 and escalated from there. According to reports, the two men who were killed in last night's incident, were new to Port Charles and had just arrived a few days prior. Police were unaware of their presence in Port Charles and are looking into the reasons why. The names of the deceased are Sal Morales and his son Miguel. The others who were injured in last night's attack have not been named as of yet. As more information becomes available we will be sure to pass it along."_

Emily stood in shock at the turn of events that she was listening to as she held her hand to her mouth and the other one on her stomach. She wondered if Zander knew about what had happened on the waterfront last night. She rushed to the living room and found him sitting up on the couch rubbing the sleep from his eyes trying to revive himself from his night's sleep.

"Zander? Did you hear about last night?" Emily asked as she came into the room.

"Yeah I heard. Thomas called and told me." he replied knowing she was talking about the shooting on the docks.

She came and sat down beside him and reached for his hand as she laid her head against his arm. "I'm just glad it wasn't you ...." her words drifted off as she felt his arm wrap around her and held her against him.

"But it could of been." he said realizing that it was him a few months ago lying in the hospital of a gunshot wound, it wasn't the first time and he didn't think it would be the last.

"Yes but it wasn't this time, and for that I'm grateful." she replied as she looked up at him. "I remember that night you were shot, my mom called from the hospital and she didn't have to say anything, I knew you were hurt. I knew it, Zander. I felt it, I felt something was terribly wrong. It was the worst night of my life, I thought I lost you that night, Zander....." her words became sniffles as her eyes filled with tears and she leaned into him. His arms wrapped around her tighter as he tried to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, Em ...." was all he could say as he held her in his arms.

Their moment together was interrupted by a knock on the door of the cabin. Emily wiped her tears as Zander rose from his seat to answer it, but not before reaching behind his back and pulling his weapon from his waist band. After the phone call last night from Thomas, he thought it best to be prepared for the unexpected.

He peered out the window to see who was the door, and saw Ric standing on the porch waiting for him. He put the gun back in his waist band and opened the door and then stepped out onto the porch with Ric. Ric turned to see his brother walk out onto the porch, and Zander noticed a change in Ric on this visit. It wasn't a social call this time, this was business .... police business.

"I guess you heard about last night?" Ric asked as Zander closed the front door and approached him.

"Yeah I did. I take it this is not a social call." Zander replied as he leaned up against the railing and eyed his brother.

"Not this time, little brother. I need to ask you a few questions about the two who were killed last night."

"What do you want to know, Ric?" Zander got defensive.

"I need to know how well you knew Sal Morales and his son Miguel?"

Memories flashed in Zander's mind about the man he knew only as Uncle Sal. His father had many dealings with the man from Puerto Rico and Sal was a frequent visitor in their home in Miami. Zander never really knew his father's business associates, but Uncle Sal was one he knew quite well. Sal's son Miguel had been raised in the family business, like Zander and it was obvious that he would take over the organization when Sal thought it was time. Miguel was a rough character, though wore the finest of clothes and had an excellent education from the finest schools, his business ways were deadly.

Ric saw Zander had drifted from the conversation. "How well did you know Sal and his son, Miguel?" Ric asked again.

Zander looked at his brother, not knowing if he should tell him that he grew up knowing Sal Morales as his Uncle Sal. It wouldn't be the first time that Zander lied to his brother, but he had thought he was beyond the childish games of lying and having Ric cover for him. But telling Ric the truth could drudge up a whole lot more then he was ready for.

"I knew them, Sal was a business associate of my father's. Do you think Sal being in Port Charles has something to do with Frank?"

"No, I think it had something to do with you."


	3. Chapter 3

"The mob war seems to be escalating as time goes on, Zander. I don't know how much longer I can keep you out of the investigation." Ric said as Zander went to sit down in one of the wooden rockers.

"Who's asking you to, Ric? I know you have a job to do."

"You are my brother, Zander and I feel the need to protect you. I might not of been there when we were younger, but I'm here now."

"Look, you know this business, Ric ... it's dangerous and it's illegal, you could arrest me right now if you wanted to for all the things you know I've done, you don't need some mob war as an excuse."

"Is that what you want? Do you want me to arrest you and haul your ass in, leaving Emily and Devon here without you and unprotected?!"

"No I don't want that, Ric but I'm just saying that I understand if comes down to that. You know as well as I do, my family is in danger and in more danger now that things are out of control between Jason and I. And now that Sonny is free, all bets are off."

Ric looked at his brother confused by what he said. "Bets? What bets?" Ric asked and Zander realized now what he left slip.

"I'm just saying that things are about to get more out of control and I can't stop it even if I wanted to." Zander replied knowing now that Sonny was free, Jason wouldn't hesitate coming after him now.

"Have you seen mom lately?" Ric asked changing the subject.

"Not for a few days, why?" Zander replied with concern.

"I went to see her and I found her looking through some old photo albums, I mean some albums of when she was a child. It was odd, because she tried to hide what she was looking at, like it was some big secret or something."

"Now that you mention it, she had a strange reaction when she and I were talking about Emily and the Quartermaines. I got the impression she knew the family." Zander replied giving Ric what he thought about his mother knowing Emily was a Quartermaine.

"Did you ask her about it?" Ric asked

"No, I didn't ask her. I didn't think she'd tell me."

"Well, something is going on with her, she's being very evasive about things, especially about that album she was looking at."

Zander began to wonder himself about his mother and how she knew the Quartermaine family. He thought it was quite interesting that Ric had a similar experience. His mother never mentioned her childhood while he was growing up, which he thought now quite odd but at the time, didn't give it a second thought. 

Elenore sat on the overstuffed couch with a photo album laying in her lap. She turned the pages one by one and looked at the old worn photographs that were pasted to them. She smiled as she looked down at a young couple and she rubbed her fingers across their faces. Tears began to well in her eyes as she turned back time in her mind, remembering those she had lost in her life.

As she turned the page, a family photo came into focus. A large family of sorts, three rows thick of members. In the center of the group sat an older couple and surrounding them were those they had created and their children. Elenore read the words underneath the picture ... "Quartermaine Family circa 1929" She sighed heavily as she studied each of the family members one by one, remembering what her mother had told her about them.

"I'm sorry Alex, but this is one secret you can never know ....." her words drifted off as she closed the book and held it to her chest hoping that her secret would be kept where it belonged ... buried deep in the past and in the far corners of her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks had past since Ric visited his brother about the shooting down on the docks. The police were no closer now then they were a few weeks ago about why Morales and his son were in Port Charles, they could only guess they were in town to do business with someone. Ric had his own suspicions about who that was, his little brother was at the top of his list.

Ric sat behind his desk and looked over the files that laid in front of him. He crumbled up the paper bag that held his lunch from Kelly's and threw it in the waste basket. It was only 1pm in the afternoon and already he was swamped with paperwork.

He looked up from the file he was reading when he heard a knock at his office door. "Yes, it's open." he called to the person who waited in the hallway.

"Ric?" the commissioner peered in.

"Come on in, Mac .. I'm just finishing up some paperwork before court." Ric replied and invited Mac inside.

"I wanted to talk to you about your brother."

Ric flipped the file folder closed and sat forward in his chair. "Zander? What about?"

"Did you have a talk with him about Morales? The circumstantial evidence is piling up, Ric .... I don't know how much longer I can give you."

"Mac, he swears he had no idea Sal and Miguel were in town. Now I know what Zander has done in the past but he's my brother, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt that what he tells me is the truth."

Mac sighed and turned to walk out of Ric's office. "Have another talk with Zander and soon, or I will have to haul him in for questioning."

Ric conceded and after Mac left the office, Ric picked up the phone and called Zander.

It rang a few times before Zander picked up. "Yeah!" Zander shouted into the phone sounding very angry with something or someone.

"Bad day?" Ric joked.

"Yeah you could say that." Zander replied calmly realizing it was Ric.

"We need to talk."

"About what this time?" by Ric's tone it was police business again.

"I need to know what you know about Morales, Zander."

"Ric, I already told you what I know about Sal .. I don't know what you want else you want from me."

"Zander we know Morales was in town to do business ... the trail has led us to you..." Ric's words drifted off.

"You have got to be kidding! Ric, I swear I had no idea Morales was in town!" Zander got defensive realizing that once again the police would do anything to get him behind bars. "It's a set up, Ric!"

"Look, I just had a talk with Mac, he's giving you one more chance to tell me, or he's going to haul you in here for questioning!"

"You gotta do what you have to do, Ric." Zander said before hanging up on his brother.

"Dammit!!" Ric shouted as he heard the line go dead.

Ric got up from his chair and grabbed his suit jacket from the chair. He slipped it on and buttoned it before storming out of his office, heading to the squad room. As he made his way down the hallway towards the squad room, he ran into Alexis, literally.

"Woah, what's your hurry?" Alexis said as she bent down to pick up the papers that scattered all over the floor when Ric bumped into her.

"Zander's making me do my job!" he replied as he bent down to help her.

"Come again?"

"He's not telling me everything about Morales and now Mac's going to have to go pick him up." Ric explained.

"I thought you had a talk with Zander about that?" she asked as she stood up with the files in her arms.

"I did, but ... there's evidence stacking up against him this time and Mac is on my butt to get Zander to talk. And well, Zander's not helping."

"I see .... I guess I should expect a phone call then." she hinting that Zander would call her for her legal services.

"Yeah, I guess you should." Ric smirked before walking off.

Ric walked into the squad room looking for the commissioner. He noticed Mac in conversation across the room, with a few patrolmen, and he approached.

Mac turned around and saw Ric approaching.

"I had a talk with Zander. He says he's being set up." Ric offered.

"Well, let's see what he has to back it up." Mac said implying that he'd have Zander picked up and brought in.

Ric sighed knowing that Mac had intentions of bringing Zander in for questioning about the shooting and Morales. He wasn't sure how much longer he could protect his brother from being arrested for 2 counts of murder.

Mac stood in the middle of the squad room and bellowed the order ...."Carson, Spencer, and Williams .. go find Zander Smith!" .... Mac turned towards Ric ... "Care to tell me where I can find him and make our job a whole lot easier?"


	5. Chapter 5

Emily stood in front of the mirror and admired her pregnant form, as Alexis watched on. "I am so fat." Emily sighed as she turned to Alexis for reassurance that she wasn't.

"Emily, sweetie, you're not fat." Alexis smiled.

"Are you kidding? Look at me!" Emily turned to her side and pulled up her shirt to show her 5 month belly.

"You look beautiful." Zander said as he walked in on her and Alexis, startling her when she heard his voice.

Emily quickly turned towards him and covered her belly. He came to her and kissed her gently on her cheek as his hand caressed their unborn child. Emily noticed the concerned look that came over his face.

"Something wrong?" she asked as she pulled back from him.

"Nothing you should concern your pretty head with." he replied and then pulled her to him.

"Something I should be concerned with?" Alexis spoke up.

"No not you either. I got it under control." Zander said confidently before heading to the other room to work.

Alexis didn't believe him. She had seen the circumstantial evidence that was being stacked against Zander, if he wasn't careful, he could find himself back in a jail cell before too long. Alexis excused herself and followed Zander to have a talk with him about how under control the situation really was.

She stood in the doorway of Zander's office and leaned up against the door jam, crossing her arms in front of her. Zander looked up from the paperwork he was focused on and smiled.

"We need to talk." Alexis said as she stepped inside the room and closed the door.

"Okay, what about?" Zander replied and he closed the file folder.

"We need to talk about Sal Morales."

Zander leaned back in his chair and got comfortable. "Come on in .. let's talk."

Alexis came in further and sat down in the chair. The evidence weighed heavily on her mind and she didn't like Zander's chances with what Ric already had against him.

"I know Ric asked you about Morales, but now I'd like you to tell me too." she said as she got comfortable in the chair.

"I don't know what you want to hear, Alexis."

"I just want the truth, Zander. Whatever you want to tell me ... but I can tell you this much, if you don't come clean with me, Ric is going to send you away till your unborn baby has graduated from college." Alexis replied, hoping to scare him into telling her everything.

Zander sat up in his chair and leaned forward against the desk. He contemplated telling her everything, but knew that what he would tell her, would bring everything crashing down around him. He sighed deeply and conceded into telling Alexis about his relationship with Sal Morales.

"Sal was a frequent visitor to our house, he and Frank did a lot of business together. Sal was around a lot. After Frank died, Sal continued to business with my uncle. I was only in Miami till I was about 10, my mom took me to upstate NY and we left that part of our lives behind."

"Okay, so did you know Sal was in town?" Alexis asked.

"No I didn't know Sal was in town. I haven't spoken with him in years!" Zander got defensive.

"Okay no need to jump down my throat ... I'm just asking because sooner or later, Mac is going to be asking the same question. I just want to be on the same page."

"I'm sorry, Alexis. I know you're just trying to help. But I got things under control." Zander apologized and repeated that the situation was being handled.

"I hope for you and your family's sake that it is." Alexis stood up from the chair and walked towards the doorway to leave.

"Alexis ....."

"Yeah .. " she replied as she looked back towards Zander.

"Thanks."

Alexis smiled and then turned away from him and left him with his paperwork.

Zander leaned back in the chair and placed his hand across his brow, contemplating what would be his next move. He needed to be careful, he didn't need the cops breathing down his neck right now. The last thing he wanted to have was Ric and Mac arresting him for Sal and Miguel's murders. But if he wanted to make his move on Jason, now was the time to do it. Jason had enough on his mind besides Zander, if he played his hand right, Jason would be easy pickings.

Emily stood in the doorway of the office and saw Zander leaning back in the chair, obviously thinking hard about something on his mind.

"Hey ..." she said and stepped in towards him.

Zander peered underneath his hand and saw her step into the office ...."Hey .. and what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Can't a wife just want to come and spend time with her husband?" she said as she approached him.

Zander sat up quickly in his chair and patted his lap for her to sit. She raised her eyebrow and then sat down slowly on his legs as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you okay?" she asked as her fingers got entangled in the hair around the nape of his neck.

"Yeah I'm fine .. I should be asking you that .. you're the one who's pregnant." he smiled.

Emily noticed his expression and saw there was something that weighed heavy on his mind. She didn't want to press him, she knew he wouldn't tell her what was bothering him, it would just make it worse for her to keep asking.

"I'm fine .. I'm fat ... but, I'm fine."

"You are not fat!" he argued.

"Zander, yes I am and you don't have to tell me I'm not to make me feel better." she pouted as she looked down at her tummy.

"Em, you are beautiful and I don't want to hear the word "fat" coming from your mouth." he replied being playfully stern with her.

"Okay .. I'm not fat .... but I'll ask you that in 4 months from now when I'm as big as a house!" she replied as she quickly got up from his lap and he chuckled at her remark.

"Now you're laughing at me?" she turned towards him not believing he was laughing at her.

"No .. Em, I'm not laughing at you." he stood up from his chair knowing that he needed to get himself out of this and fast..

She stood in front of him with her hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow waiting for an answer and he couldn't help but snicker. She saw his reaction and turned on her heel to leave the office, not waiting for a verbal answer from him, she smiling all the way to the door before turning back around to look at him with a straight face.

He threw his hands in the air, knowing he was defeated. She thought she'd let him off the hook and smiled sweetly. "You know, one of these days, I'm gonna get you back for all the times you get me, Em." he said as she stood in the doorway smiling.

"Uh, huh ... sure you are." she giggled and turned back around quickly and left, leaving him chuckling to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

"Care to tell me how come Smith is still alive? I thought I hired you to do a job?!" the voice demanded into the phone.

"You didn't tell me he wasn't living in town! How am I suppose to do a job when I can't find it!" the stranger replied trying not to attract attention to himself while standing on docks.

"I'll find out and get back to you. Stay low!" the voice instructed then the line went dead.

Zander and Emily had made the doctor's appointment with Dr. Meadows but only Emily returned to the cabin. Zander went on to the warehouse to check on some recently arrived shipments and would meet up with her later. Thomas pulled the limo up in front of the cabin and got out. He opened the back door for Emily and she climbed out from the back seat.

"Thank you, Thomas." Emily said with a smile and Thomas smiled in return.

"Here, let me help you...." Thomas offered his arm to her.

"That's okay Thomas I'm pregnant, I can make it myself." she smiled but took his arm anyway to be nice.

"The boss told me to keep my eye on you and to take care of you till he gets back and that's what I am going to do." Thomas replied as he walked with her to the front door of the cabin.

Thomas was alerted to the front door being ajar and held Emily back from going inside. Emily became concerned as she noticed it as well and stayed back as Thomas went in first with his gun drawn. Thomas pushed open the front door and stepped in cautiously, looking around the inside of the cabin for anyone else who may or may not be waiting for them. Emily became afraid as she waited out on the front porch as Thomas checked the house for an intruder. She became impatient and didn't wait for Thomas to return, she slipped into the cabin and lurked around the first floor of the house.

"Thomas!" she called for him when she heard footsteps upstairs.

Thomas rushed down the stairs and found Emily standing waiting for him just inside the front door.

"Who ever was here isn't here anymore." Thomas said as Emily pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket.

"I'm just glad I left Devon with my parents and he's safe and sound asleep at the estate." she and Zander had dropped Devon off at the Quartermaine's earlier that day and had planned on picking him up the next day, giving the family some time to spend with him.

As she dialed Zander's cell phone number into her phone, shots rang out and glass shattered from the window where the bullet had come through. Thomas pushed Emily to the floor covering her with his body for protection. His gun still drawn, he tried to see what he could by looking out the front door of the cabin, and protect Emily at the same time. She was his priority, if anything happened to her ..... he didn't even want to think about what his boss would do to him.

Thomas heard the engine roar of a vehicle outside and rushed out onto the front porch, hoping to see who the hidden assailant was, leaving Emily on the floor of the foyer, in shock of what just happened. Thomas didn't see anything but dust as the vehicle sped away down the dirt road, he then turned his attention back to Emily still lying face down on the hardwood floor. He rushed to her and helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked as Emily stood up and brushed herself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for doing what you did." she replied, her mind reeling.

"Are you sure you're okay, should we go back to the hospital?"

"Don't be silly, Thomas. I'm fine. I think we should call Zander though, he could be in danger at the warehouse." Worry about Zander overcame her, she had a bad feeling building in her gut.

Thomas pulled out his cell phone and called Zander. It took a few rings before Zander answered.

"Sir, I think you should get back to the cabin as fast as you can. We've encountered a problem." Thomas said when Zander answered, not giving him the chance to ask questions.

"Emily? Is she okay?" Zander asked as worry set in.

"Yes sir, she's right here...." Thomas replied and handed Emily the cell phone.

"Zander? You gotta come back to the cabin!" Emily's hand shook as she held the cell phone to her ear and talked with her husband.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Zander asked in fear for his wife.

"I'm fine but you just gotta come back, Zander .... I think the danger is in town! You have to come back!" she pleaded.

"Okay ... I'll be right there!" he replied and she could hear him ordering Gregory to take him back to the cabin.

"Em .... I need to talk to Thomas, can you put him back on the phone?" Zander asked calmly making sure she understood.

"Yeah, sure ... I love you ..." she replied and then handed the phone back to Thomas.

Emily wiped her eyes of the tears that began to well in them as it had become apparent to her as to what had happened. She steadied herself on the chair before taking a few steps and sat down on the couch. Thomas kept his eye on her as he finished his conversation with Zander on the phone.

"Thomas, what the hell happened?!"

"I brought Emily back to the cabin and I noticed the front door was slightly open. I did a search of the house and found nothing and as we stood in the foyer, I heard gun shots and we hit the floor. I tried to get a look at the vehicle as it left but there was too much dust ...." his words drifted off as he tried to remember something about the assailant's getaway.

"Is Emily okay?" Zander asked again filled with worry and concern about his wife.

"Yes sir, she's fine ... a little shaken up but she's fine."

"Stay with her Thomas, I'll be there as soon as I can." Zander replied and then flipped closed his phone.

Thomas flipped close his phone and noticed Emily was sitting on the couch with her head being held in her hands. He could hear her sniffling back the tears and went to her, to see if there was something he could do.

"Zander's on his way. Gregory is going to have him back to the cabin shortly." Thomas reassured her as he approached.

Emily looked up from her hands and sniffled back the tears. "Thank you, Thomas .... You saved our lives, you know that, right?"

"Just doing my job, Emily." Thomas replied being modest.

"Job nothing, those bullets could of killed us, Thomas ... you didn't think twice about shielding me from them." Emily replied as Thomas towered over her.

"Like I said, that's my job .... your husband expects that from me, Emily. I am just told what to do and expected to do it." Thomas answered her.

"Job or not ... thank you." Emily sighed.

"You're welcome. I'm going to go and check around the cabin. Are you going to be okay here?"

"Yeah, Thomas I'm fine ....." Emily calmer now, knowing that Zander was on his way and he'd be safe once he was back at the cabin with her.

Thomas nodded his head and began to look around the cabin, perhaps for a clue left behind that would tell them who was there and what they may have been looking for.

It wasn't long till Emily heard a car pull up outside the cabin. She peered out the shattered window to see who had arrived and noticed it was Gregory with Zander. She raced out onto the front porch, and not waiting till he emerged from the car, she was down the front steps and rushed towards the limo. Gregory opened the back door as fast as he could and Zander emerged as Emily rounded the corner of the car, she fell into his arms thankful he was there with her.

Thomas emerged from the cabin and stood on the front porch as Zander and Emily walked up to the front steps together. She leaning on him as they climbed the few steps and onto the porch, Zander holding her tight against his side, his arm wrapped around her and his hand caressing her arm to comfort her.

"Give me a few minutes ..." Zander said to Thomas as he walked into the house with Emily by his side.

Thomas nodded and then walked down to the limo to meet with Gregory, who stood by the car waiting for instructions from Zander.

Zander and Emily stood in the foyer of the cabin, and she turned into him holding him tight against her. She was thankful he was okay and with her now, she let out a sigh of relief as she felt his arms wrapped around her.

"I am so sorry, Em .... I .." he began.

"I know, but I'm fine ... the baby's fine ...." she replied her voice muffled against his chest.

"But you're not fine, Emily ... you and our child could of been killed and it's all my fault."


	7. Chapter 7

Zander insisted that Emily go to the hospital to be examined by Dr. Meadows after what had happened to her and Thomas. He wasn't taking no for an answer. He called for more of his men to secure the cabin while Gregory took he and Emily back to the hospital.

Gregory pulled the limo up outside the emergency room and parked. He got out of car and went to open the back door for Zander and Emily. Zander climbed out first and lent a hand to Emily. They walked into the ER, Emily leaning on Zander as they walked through the automated double doors. Bobbie stood behind the counter of the nurse's station and saw the two of them walk in, Emily looking pale, Bobbie immediately knew something was wrong and rushed to help her.

"Emily .. you don't look so good?" Bobbie remarked as she greeted them.

"I'm fine ... Zander insisted I come in to be re-checked by Dr. Meadows." Emily replied and rolled her eyes towards Zander.

"Does he have good reason to be concerned?" Bobbie questioned as they waited for the wheelchair Bobbie motioned for.

"He seems to think so, but I'm fine, really." Emily insisted as she sat down in the wheelchair that was brought by one of the orderlies.

"You do look a bit pale ...." Bobbie began as her hand latched onto Emily's wrist and took her pulse. "Why don't we see what Dr. Meadows has to say about it." she continued and then cracked a smile.

Dr. Meadows made room in her schedule to re-exam Emily and afterwards asked her to stay overnight for observation. The baby's heartbeat was a little slow and she was hoping that if Emily got some rest, the baby would improve. Emily was taken to a private room and given strict instructions.

"I need you to rest, completely rest at least for the next 48 hours. We'll check on the baby later and hopefully the heartbeat will quicken to where it should be. If not, we'll do another ultrasound to see what's going on." Dr. Meadows instructed before leaving Emily with her husband.

Zander reached up with his hand and brushed back a few strands of auburn hair that laid against Emily's face. She leaned into his touch and smiled at him. "I'm sorry I fought you so hard ..." she apologized.

"It's okay, you're here now and you and the baby are going to be fine." Zander reassured her.

"Yes, but there is someone out there who wants you dead, Zander. That's something you just can't forget."

"I don't want you to worry about that now, remember what Dr. Meadows said ... you need complete rest and that means no stress." Zander leaned in and laid his lips softly against hers. She reached up and caressed his jaw line as the kiss lingered a little longer.

Zander pulled back from the kiss when he realized someone should call Emily's parents. "I'm, uh .. going to call your parents and check on Devon .... okay?" he said as he got up from the swivel stool he was sitting on. "You get some rest while I'm gone." he continued then smiled at her before walking towards the door of her room.

"Don't be long, okay?" she replied and he turned back towards her and smiled before leaving her alone to rest.

Zander didn't want to worry her but his reasons for leaving her to rest was mostly to inform her parents but there was that part of him who wanted to know who took shots at his wife, that were more then likely meant for him. Zander walked out of the automated double doors of the front entrance to the hospital and reached in his pocket for his cell phone. His first call was to the Quartermaine estate to let Alan and Monica know that Emily was in the hospital, and to check on Devon. His second phone call was to Thomas, he wanted to know who fired those shots that could of killed his wife.

"Thomas you better have something for me?!" Zander said as Thomas answered his cell phone.

"Well, we know the guy came into town a few days ago. Who hired him? We're still working on it." Thomas replied.

"You have 48 hours, Thomas ... Emily will be in the hospital that long and I want to have dealt with this man before she gets released. And I want a man on her room at the hospital 24/7 .... you got that!" Zander ordered.

"Yes sir, right away." Thomas complied with his boss's orders.

"Good, now Devon will be staying at the Q's for now and I want the estate looked after as well. I am not taking chances with my family!"

"Got it." Thomas answered. "We'll take care of it."

"I'm counting on you, Thomas. I'll be at the hospital with Emily, keep me informed. And if you find the guy, call me, immediately!"

With that Zander flipped closed his cell phone and walked back inside the hospital. He met Alan and Monica at the nurse's station on Emily's floor and stopped to talk with them before going back to sit with his wife.

"What the hell happened, Zander?" Alan barked wanting to know the details about why Emily was back in the hospital.

"I don't know Alan, I wasn't there ...." Zander began but Alan interrupted him.

"You promised you would protect our daughter! And now this?! And this isn't the first time ...." Alan replied with anger and Monica stepped in wanting to trying to take control before Alan's temper got the better of him.

"Alan ... I'm sure Zander did all he could to protect Emily ..." Monica said and then eyed Zander for confirmation.

"Of course I did! Look, Thomas was there, I stayed back here in town, I had no reason to believe that there was any danger! You want to know what happened at the house, you can ask Emily or ask Thomas. Right now I am going to sit with my wife!" Zander stepped forward to leave and Alan put his hand up against Zander's chest and stopped him.

"I'm not finished with you just yet .... Emily will wait." Alan said sternly and Zander looked down at Alan's hand that laid heavy on his chest.

The tension was high between Zander and Alan while Monica looked on not knowing how to stop the crash that was about to happen.


	8. Chapter 8

As Alan and Zander stood face to face with each other, tension was building between two the of them, as Monica looked on. She noticed Dr. Meadows step off the elevator and walk towards them, the concern on her face worried Monica.

"Zander, can we talk?" Dr. Meadows said as she came up behind him.

Zander turned around when he heard someone speaking to him. The look on the doctor's face worried him. "Yeah sure." he said to her, but before leaving Monica and Alan he added ..."We'll continue this later." Zander walked away with Dr. Meadows and Monica and Alan both concerned about Emily wanted to know what was going on too and followed.

"What's wrong, Dr. Meadows?" Zander worried.

"I can see now that the 48 hours I gave Emily isn't going to be enough, she's in need of more time for rest and I don't think she's going to get that at home."

"What are you saying?" Zander asked wanting the doctor to be more clear on Emily's condition.

"What I am saying is that the baby's heart beat isn't quickening like I want it to, though it has increased since Emily was admitted. I feel she needs to stay here a little longer then 48 hours. I'd like to keep an eye on her."

"Is she going to lose the baby?" Monica spoke up and Dr. Meadows turned around towards her.

Dr. Meadows hung her head in doubt. "I don't know. Only time will tell." she replied somberly.

"You have to save our baby, Dr. Meadows!" Zander distraught about his child and about Emily.

"I'll do my best, Zander ... but it's up to Emily now. I've done all I can medically to help her." Dr. Meadows replied before leaving the family in the waiting area.

"You know Emily wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you!" Alan barked at Zander.

"Don't start with me Alan! My concern right now is for Emily and our baby! I don't have the time to argue with you." Zander snapped back and stormed off headed to see his wife.

Alan went to go after him and Monica pulled him back. "Let him go, Emily needs him now. Fighting with Zander isn't going to make this situation any better." she replied as Alan pulled her to him.

Zander stood in the doorway of Emily's hospital room and watched as she slept. Her hand draped gently over her bulging belly, he becoming more and more concerned for both of them as he looked on. He quietly walked into the room and sat down on the swivel stool next to her bed. He reached for her hand and held it in his as she opened her eyes when she felt his touch.

"Hey ...." she said softly as her eyes focused on him sitting next to her.

"Hey .... sorry I didn't mean to wake you." he replied as he brushed back a few strands of her auburn hair that caressed her cheek.

"Are my mom and dad here?" she asked, glancing towards the door.

"Yeah they're out in the waiting area. Devon's at the mansion with Alice." Zander replied trying not to make her aware of his concern for her and the baby.

"What aren't you telling me?" she said as she saw the worry in his eyes.

Zander breathed in deeply, he knew he had to tell her what Dr. Meadows had said, he just didn't know how. He knew she was going to be upset and worried, which was the last thing she needed.

"I talked with Dr. Meadows. She's going to keep you here a little longer then originally planned." Zander began.

"The baby? I'm gonna lose him aren't I?" Emily replied as panic was setting in. "Zander we can't lose this baby!"

"We're not going to lose the baby, okay. Dr. Meadows said that all you need is rest and she doesn't think you can get the rest you need at home, she needs you to stay here for a few more days." trying to reassure her, he had hoped all she needed was rest. He was relying on Dr. Meadows to know what was best for Emily and their baby. He had to trust her, something Zander wasn't all that good at doing with people.

Emily laid her head back against the pillow, a concern washed over her, her stomach tied up in knots, she felt them tighten inside her and a sharp pain shot through her. She grimaced in pain as her hand went to where she felt it. Zander noticed something was wrong, she trying to hide it, but it was too sharp to deny.

"Oh God, Em ...!" he exclaimed as he felt her hand squeeze his tighter and tighter from the pain she was feeling.

"Go ...." was all that escaped her lips and Zander knew she needed the doctor.

He raced out of her room and into the hallway, calling for help from someone, a nurse ... anyone who could hear him call for help. Alan and Monica came running towards him from the nurse's station and asked what was wrong.

"I don't know .. Em just got this pain all of a sudden ...something's wrong..." 

The three of them rushed to Emily's side and Alan began an evaluation of Emily's condition by applying his hands to her abdomen hoping to feel what was wrong. Emily grimacing in pain as she felt the pressure from her father's hands as he kneaded her like dough.

Emily cried out as Alan told Monica to go get Dr. Meadows, something was seriously wrong. Zander stood on the other side of Emily's bed and held onto her hand wanting so much to take away the pain she was feeling. He felt so helpless. He watched as Alan examined Emily more to find out what was causing the sharp pains she was feeling.

"She can't be in labor yet, Alan .. it's too early!" Zander said as he held onto Emily's hand for comfort and reassurance.

"I don't think it's labor pains .. this is something else." Alan replied with worry.

Tears began to well in Emily's eyes as the pain she was feeling became stronger, too much to bear. She cried out in pain again and squeezed Zander's hand with all that was inside her.

"You have to do something!" Zander yelled at Alan as he felt Emily squeeze his hand.

Monica returned with Dr. Meadows and she did an examination of Emily and the baby.

"I can't lose this baby, Dr. Meadows! Please save our baby!" Emily cried, the tears warm as they rolled down her cheeks.

"Just try to calm down, Emily ....I'm going to do all I can."

Dr. Meadows asked for Monica and Alan to leave the room so she could do a thorough examine of Emily and the baby, Zander would of been asked to leave as well, but Emily wasn't about to let go of him.

As Dr. Meadows did the examine, Emily could feel the pain subside and she became more relaxed. "Is the pain diminishing, Emily?" Dr. Meadows asked as she noticed Emily didn't seem to be in much discomfort.

"Yeah it is ...." Emily sniffled back the tears.

"Good. Now I'm seriously keeping you here longer the 48 hours. Stress caused this episode and we can't be having it happen again." Dr. Meadows explained hoping her patient would understand.

"The baby? How's the baby? He's okay, right?" Emily concerned, she looked at Zander then at Dr. Meadows for reassurance.

Dr. Meadows hesitated and all went silent, it was deafening and the pause from the doctor, gave Zander the overwhelming feeling there was more that she wasn't telling them.


	9. Chapter 9

"Dr. Meadows ... what about the baby?!" Emily's tears began to well in her eyes again as she noticed the doctor's somber look.

"The baby seems to be feeling some discomfort but that can be expected after the ordeal Emily's been through." the doctor replied as she pulled back from Emily's bed and stood up from her swivel stool.

"What can we do for him?" Emily asked worried about the welfare of her unborn baby.

"Right now all we can do is wait and see. There isn't anything medically we can do, you just need to relax and sustain no stress, which was the case the last time. And again I'm prescribing complete bed rest. Which means, I'm not releasing you just yet. I'd like to keep an eye on the baby tonight and then do an ultrasound tomorrow to see what's going on in there."

Zander reached down and caressed Emily's head with his hand as a reassurance to her he was there with and not to be afraid. But it would take more then Zander's touch to keep her from feeling afraid, she was afraid she was going to lose this baby, something she wasn't going to be able to handle. She couldn't lose this baby.

"Thank you Dr. Meadows. I can promise you Emily will get all the bed rest she needs." Alan spoke up and he glanced at Zander from across the bed.

"I'm sure you will, Dr. Quartermaine. I'll check on Emily later on tonight." Dr. Meadows replied and then left the family in the room with Emily.

Dr. Meadows closed the door of Emily's room before Alan spoke and tried to keep his anger contained so not to upset Emily. "I don't think we should stay too much longer, Emily needs her rest."

"Right, doctor's orders." Zander replied smuggly, knowing that Alan was trying to keep him from his wife.

Alan turned on his heel and brushed passed Monica as he headed out the door of his daughter's room. Monica apologized for Alan's reaction and then kissed Emily on her cheek goodnight. "I'm sure you are in very capable hands ...." Monica said as she glanced at Zander.

"Yeah I am .." Emily smiled. "See you tomorrow though, right?"

Monica nodded that she would be back to visit. Monica left the room, leaving Emily and Zander alone together.

"Do I even want to know what is up with you and dad?" Emily replied as Zander took a seat on the swivel stool.

"No, you don't. It's not good for you to know, it will just bring more worry, and it's the last thing you need right now. He'll get over it soon enough. He always does." Zander remarked and then leaned in towards her, she leaning in to him and their lips meeting for a sweet kiss.

Emily noticed the guard that now stood outside her room and Zander noticed him as well. "The guard is just an extra precaution, nothing to worry about. I asked Thomas to have someone outside round the clock. While you're here in the hospital, I want you and the baby to be safe."

"As long as you're here, I am." Emily replied as she latched onto Zander's hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, I will be right here by your side .... there is no getting rid of me." he cracked a smile and brushed back a few strands of her hair that caressed her cheek.

She felt more secure knowing her husband wasn't leaving her side, she didn't know what she'd do without him. She just didn't want him to feel like all this was his fault, because it wasn't. Emily knew that her father was blaming Zander for this, he always had blamed Zander for everything, since the first day she and Zander had met, it was nothing new. Zander didn't need the extra pressure from her father, he had enough to deal with, he certainly didn't need to have the guilt of this on his shoulders too.

Emily slowly drifted off to sleep with Zander holding her hand in his, he watched her drift off. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart ...." he whispered and kissed her softly on her forehead as he stood up from his seat.

He left her side and went out into the corridor and had a look around, the hallway was empty and he acknowledged the guard who stood at his post as he was ordered to. Zander walked back into Emily's room and sat on the chair once more. He watched her sleeping peacefully and soon he too had drifted off to sleep.

The morning sun had woke him as his eyes opened and adjusted to the sunshine that filtered in through the blinds that hung in front of the windows. He stretched and twisted his tired body and stood from the chair. He walked towards the bed quietly, Emily still a sleep, he looked down at her and said a little prayer for her and the baby to be alright. He was startled by a knock on the door and quickly went to see who it was visiting so early in the morning.

He was greeted with a huge bouquet of flowers carried by one of the duty nurse's and she stepped into the room, then walked towards the table and set down the vase. "These are for your wife ... beautiful aren't they?" the nurse remarked as she took a sniff at the flowers before leaving the room.

Zander went to check for a card and he found one buried amongst the baby's breath. He pulled it from the bouquet and opened up the envelope, thinking it probably was from Ric or his mother. He certainly wasn't expecting what he found.

Emily's name written across the front of the envelope and inside a small note card, harmless enough. He opened the card and began to read the message that was inside.

_"For Emily,_

I am sorry to hear that you and your baby are not well. My well wishes to the both of you.

Best Regards  
Lorenzo Alcazar"

Zander took the note and envelope from the flowers and stuff it in his jacket pocket, he had heard of Lorenzo Alcazar and nothing good. He was a major arms dealer among other things. Zander wondered why Lorenzo Alcazar would be sending Emily well wishes and how did he know Emily was in the hospital unless he was the one who who had sent the assailant to the cabin.

Zander picked up the bouquet and carried it out to the corridor. The guard gave him a look of concern.

"Marcus, take these and get rid of them. I don't care what you do with them, just take them. And then I want you to call Thomas and get him here, right away. It's urgent." Zander ordered.

Zander pulled the note from his pocket and studied it. He wondered if all this time it was Lorenzo Alcazar pulling the strings. The explosion in the harbor, the attacks on the docks, the missing shipments.... was Lorenzo Alcazar responsible?

Was Lorenzo Alcazar the person to blame for Emily being in the hospital? Zander's fists clenched around the note card as he thought about all that Lorenzo had done to him and his family.

Lorenzo Alcazar was living on borrowed time.


	10. Chapter 10

_"The Smith baby is doing fine now, heartbeat is quickening, which is good. All seems well. But I still want to keep mother and baby on monitors." Dr. Meadows instructed the duty nurse that began the morning shift on the 4th floor._

The duty nurse, Wendy nodded as she wrote down Dr. Meadows instructions.

"Oh and let's keep the visitors to a limit. Family only for now. Emily needs her rest." Dr. Meadows added before leaving to do her rounds.

Zander sat with Emily, which eased her fears of being in the hospital and her worries about their baby. She had been in this situation before with Devon, and she knew the risks of being pregnant again. She began to blame herself. If she had not been so selfish of wanting another baby for her and Zander, she wouldn't of put a precious life in danger.

"This is all my fault..." Emily said as she hid her head in her hands.

"It is not your fault. Don't go blaming yourself for this, you and I both wanted another baby. If you take the blame for this, then I should share in it too." Zander replied as he pulled her hands away from her face.

The moment was broken by a knock on the hospital room door and Ric peered in. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, Ric come on in ...." Zander invited as he swiped his hand across his eyes and wiped his tears away.

Ric came in and stood at the bottom of Emily's bed with a smile across his face.

"Well, you're looking better." Ric said to Emily.

"Thanks ... I'm feeling better." she replied as she caressed her tummy.

"How's the baby, he's doing well too, I hope?"

"Yeah, he's doing a lot better. So says Dr. Meadows. We just need a lot of bed rest."

"Good... happy to hear that." Ric replied to Emily then turned his focus on his brother. "Zander, can we talk?"

"Sure ... I'll be right outside if you need me." Zander said before leaving Emily and going with Ric out into the hallway to talk.

"We got nothing on the assailant from the other night, Zander. Not fingerprints, witness .... nothing." Ric disappointed he didn't have better news.

Zander not wanting to tell Ric about the flowers delivered to Emily from Alcazar, he wanted to handle the situation on his own. Alcazar had done this to his family, and he would handle it. Zander had enough experience with the PCPD know when that he would have a better chance at making Alcazar pay for his crimes against the family, then any court of law.

Ric noticed Zander's expression and realized Zander had something but was keeping it from him. "You know something don't you?" Ric asked and Zander realized Ric saw the wheels turning inside his head about Alcazar.

"Sorry, my men came up empty too ..." Zander answered, lying to Ric.

"Don't give me that! You know who sent the man to your house, Zander .. you know, don't you?"

Zander sighed, hoping he could keep what he knew to himself, but Ric saw right through him. "Zander, you have to tell me!" Ric demanded.

"I don't have to tell you anything, Ric! This is business ...." Zander replied letting Ric know where he stood.

"This isn't business, Zander .... this is personal! And it became personal when Emily became the target, and you know it!"

"Just know that I've got it handled." Zander said as he turned and walked towards Emily's room.

"No, Zander .... you're going to tell me who is responsible for this and you're going to tell me right now!" Ric ordered as he grabbed Zander's arm at the elbow, preventing him from going anywhere.

Zander yanked his arm away from his brother's grasp and without answering him, Zander walked back into Emily's room, leaving Ric standing alone in the hallway, still waiting for answers.  



	11. Chapter 11

_Ric had come back to see Emily a few times over the next few days and each time he would visit, he had a few choice words for Zander. Ric was become relentless about catching the assailant who tried to harm Zander's family, and Zander stood reluctant to tell Ric anything. Zander was pushing Ric to the point of arresting him for obstruction on top of a murder charge for Sal and Miguel Morales._

Ric sat behind his desk and looked over the evidence in both cases, hoping to find a common line other then Zander. He didn't find any, unfortunately. Ric sighed deeply because he knew what he had to do, even though he didn't want to, Zander had pushed him to the point of choosing his job or his brother, and Ric couldn't cover for him any more. It was time Ric did his job.

Ric got up from his seat with purpose and grabbed his suit jacket. As he walked down through the squad room he grabbed a few officers to take with him to serve the papers for arrest. He wanted to wait until Emily was out of the hospital and out of danger of losing the baby, but he couldn't wait any longer. If Zander wasn't going to tell him who was after him, Ric would take charge and make Zander tell him.

Ric and the officers obvious stop was at the hospital. Zander was more then likely with Emily, he had been by her side every day, what would make this day any different. Ric rapped on the hospital door and waited to enter till he heard Emily's voice from inside and invited him in. She not too concerned to see Ric until she noticed the officers who followed him in.

"I take it your looking for Zander?" she said when she saw the officers who stood in the doorway.

"Yeah I am, has he been here today?" Ric replied as he looked around the room for evidence of Zander being there with her.

"He was here earlier. He left a little while ago."

"I guess you're not going to tell me where he went, huh?" Ric asked knowing Emily too well.

"Sorry, Ric. I don't know where he went, he didn't say. Can I ask what you want him for this time?"

"I'd like to get some straight answers from him for a change." Ric replied before leaving Emily's room heading to the warehouse, perhaps Zander had some business to tend to.

Ric and the officers left the hospital empty handed and headed to one of Zander's warehouses down on the docks. If not with Emily, Zander would be conducting business, Ric had only hoped that this time, Zander was amidst paperwork and not business associates.

The unmarked police cars pulled up at the warehouse on Pier 51, two limos were parked out front. One limo Ric figured was Zander's, the other .... anyone's guess. Ric and the officers proceeded with caution, not knowing what they might find inside. The officer's guns drawn, ready for the unexpected.

The door ajar, Ric pushed it open with his hand and peered inside into the empty warehouse. It dimly lit, though there was light in the office towards the back of the large empty space. Ric and the officers cautiously moved within the warehouse, alert for any sudden movements in the shadows.

There were large wooden crates scattered about the warehouse, a closer look would tell Ric that Zander was obviously doing business with someone who would take the shipments off his hands. By just walking through the warehouse, Ric would have enough evidence to put his brother away for a very long time. But that wasn't what he was there for, it wasn't what the arrest warrant was intended for, so he had to be blind to the fact that there were crates of illegal product staring him in the face.

"Zander! It's Ric, are you here?" Ric shouted as he and the officers walked towards the office.

Some scurrying noises could be heard from the back of the warehouse and Ric ordered the officers to go check it out, leaving him alone looking for Zander. Ric opened up the office door slowly, hoping to find Zander at his desk. He was disappointed to find no one there, but a pile of paperwork. Though tempted to see what the pile contained, he kept focus on the task at hand, finding Zander. 

As Ric closed the office door, he could hear a car engine roar outside the warehouse. He rushed to the door, only to catch a glimpse of the taillights of one of the limos as it sped away down the alley.

"Dammit!" he scolded as the other officers came running to assist him.

"What do you want to do know, sir?" one of the officers spoke up as they watched the dust fly in the air from the limo.

"What I want is Zander! And I will bet you anything he was in that damn car!" Ric replied frustrated that his brother was one step ahead of him. "I want an APB out on Zander and all of his vehicles, including the jet! I want him in custody within 24 hours! He has some explaining to do!" Ric barked at the officers who then scattered back to the cars to get started on catching the suspect.

As Ric stood in front of the warehouse, the cell phone in his pocket began ringing. He reached in and flipped it open to answer it.

"Lansing." Ric answered.

"I'm sorry Ric I had to do that." the voice replied, Ric knowing it was Zander on the other end.

"Where the hell are you?!" Ric demanded to know.

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry Ric but I'm doing this my own way."

"Zander! I can't let you do that! ..." Ric's words drifted off when he heard he was talking to dead space. Zander had hung up on him.

"Dammit, Zander!" he scolded to the cell phone as he felt the urge to throw it out of anger and frustration.

Ric, heavy footed strutted over to the unmarked police car and ordered for other units to get down to the warehouse and confiscate everything inside, including the shipments and the files. He wanted everything. While Zander was playing by his rules, Ric was going to be playing his.  



	12. Chapter 12

_Zander wasn't about to run, not with Emily still in the hospital and their baby's life at risk. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Ric back._

"Lansing." Ric answered.

"Ric .. cleaned out my warehouse yet?" Zander replied but didn't get a chuckle out of Ric.

"Actually, yes I have Zander." Ric said bluntly.

"You didn't!"

"Zander you left me no other choice." Ric replied.

"Meet me at the cabin .... and leave the officers at home." Zander instructed.

"Zander, I don't take orders from you, I'm not an employee of yours .... I'm your brother."

"Yeah my brother who just happens to be the District Attorney. You'll meet me at the cabin, if you want to catch the person who has reeked havoc on your city, Ric."

Zander flipped his phone closed and Thomas drove Zander to the cabin to wait for Ric.

A short time had passed and Zander sat waiting for Ric in the back seat of his limo. He didn't want to give up Lorenzo but if it meant staying out of prison, he'd hand Lorenzo over on a silver platter to Ric.

"Thomas ...."

"It's 10 minutes since the last time you asked, Sir."

"Where the hell is he, Ric should of been here by now."

"Maybe he's not going to show, Sir?"

"Oh he'll show, he wants answers. This has been going on far too long. If anything, I know Ric and he's desperate to punish someone. He'll be here."

Thomas looked in the rearview mirror and saw an unmarked police car pull up behind the limo.

"I think your guest has arrived, Sir."

Zander turned around to see the unmarked car parked behind them. Ric emerged from the driver's seat and walked towards Zander's car. The back door opened and Ric climbed in.

"This better be good." Ric said as he closed the door.

"It is but I want some assurances before I give you anything." Zander replied wanting some promises first.

"Zander ... " Ric shook his head side to side.

"Look, I'm not going down for something I had nothing to do with and if you want the person responsible for it, you'll give me what I want, Ric."

Ric sighed knowing Zander knew exactly what buttons to push to get what he wanted. "Okay, what do want?"

"I want is full immunity from this case, Ric. No questions asked."

"So you are in over your head again, huh?" Ric replied, thinking on Zander's offer.

"Do you want this man or not?"

"Yes I do want him, but .. full immunity?" Ric contemplated what he should do, he really needed the information Zander had to stop the violence that had been happening over the past few months.

"You are the DA, Ric .. you make deals all the time. Now I'm asking for a deal for me. What's the problem?"

"The problem is, is that you are my brother, Zander. I don't want to be compromised for giving you a deal of full immunity!" Ric replied laying out for Zander the situation he could be in.

"Then I guess you have a choice to make, now don't you? You either give me, your brother the deal of full immunity or no dice. I will go after this man myself and there will be more violence and more killing, Ric. I can guarantee you that!"

"Alright! I'll take the heat for this if it comes back on me ..... you have your full immunity."

Zander grinned. "Thank you."

"Now .... tell me .... who is this person? Who are we up against?"

Zander reached in the back pocket of the seat in front of him and pulled out a manilla file folder, at least an inch thick. He handed it to Ric.

"This is all the information you need to put a stop to the man. I've done all the leg work for you Ric, all you need to do is prosecute him." Zander said as Ric looked down at the file folder he was handed.

Ric opened up the folder and began looking through all the paperwork inside. A picture of the man was attached to the reports Zander's men had compiled.

"I don't know what to say, Zander."

"A thank you might suffice. And tell me that I will not have to worry about this man again. He has hurt my family, our family, Ric .. I want him punished!" Zander replied reminding Ric that it wasn't only Zander's family but Ric's family as well.

Ric looked up from the folder and looked at Zander .... "Oh you don't have to worry about that, Mr. Alcazar will be punished for all he has done, trust me."  



	13. Chapter 13

_Zander feeling pretty good about his deal with Ric, he had Thomas drive him back to the hospital to see Emily. He had been gone for quite a while and he was sure she'd be worried about him. Thomas pulled the limo up in front of the hospital and Zander gave him a few last instructions before he climbed out of the car._

_Zander walked down the corridor towards Emily's room and saw the guard he had posted, was there as instructed. Zander approached and the guard nodded in acknowledgment of his boss. Zander opened the door to Emily's room and peered inside. He noticed she had visitors and he hesitated, but Emily saw him before he had a chance to back out._

_"Zander .. where have you been?! I've been worried sick about you!" Emily scolded as Zander stepped into the room and closed the door behind him._

_"I've been keeping you safe ...." he began as he stepped towards her, glancing to her mom and dad standing on the other side of the bed._

_"You call this keeping her safe?" Alan replied as he pointed out to the guard outside the door._

_"Dad, please. Zander's doing all that he can to protect me!" Emily spoke up as she reached for Zander's hand._

_"May I speak with Emily, alone, please?" Zander asked implying for Alan and Monica to leave._

_"Come on Alan, let's leave them alone." Monica said as she coaxed Alan towards the door._

_Zander didn't say anything more till he saw the door close behind them. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and caressed his unborn child with his hand._

_"Now are you going to tell me where you have been? Ric was here looking for you and I didn't know for sure what to tell him."_

_"Yeah I know, I spoke with Ric. He gave me a deal, Em."_

_"What kind of deal?" she replied as she tried to sit up._

_"A kind of deal that guarantees me the rest of my life with you and our children."_

_"What does that mean? Ric's not looking to arrest you, is he?" she became worried now because of Zander's answer to her._

_"No, he's not and it's nothing for you to worry about. I have it all under control." Zander tried to reassure her._

_"Yeah where have I heard that before ..." she snickered and raised his brow._

_"It's different this time .. promise." he replied._

_"Okay, Zander .. I trust you that it is." she answered as he leaned down and laid his lips against hers gently._

_"I won't let anything happen to you, Em. You can trust that."_

_"I do, Zander .. I do." she reached up and embraced him, pulling him to her._

_He pulled back from her and caressed her cheek with his hand. "Has Dr. Meadows been to see you today yet?"_

_"She was here earlier. She says everything looks good, but still wants me here so she can monitor the baby." Emily replied as she rubbed her hand over her belly._

_Zander stood up from the swivel stool and removed his suit jacket, he laid back on the chair that sat in the corner and rolled up his sleeves. Emily gave him a confused look, she wondered what he had planned now, as he went to the door and turned the lock._

_"Well, since Dr. Meadows insists that you spend all the time in that bed, I guess the only way a husband gets some TLC is if he joins you." he smirked as he turned down the lights and walked back towards Emily._

_Emily moved herself over to make room for Zander, being careful of the monitors she was connected to, he climbed into the bed with her. She leaned into him and laid her head in the crook of his neck, as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him._

_His hand instinctively laid gently on their unborn baby and her hand joined his. "She's going to be okay, you know?" Emily said softly._

_"I know .. I'm just worried about the two of you. We've been here before and I don't want anything to go wrong." Zander replied as his thoughts traveled back to when Emily was pregnant with Devon. "Speaking of Devon, I guess Alice isn't tired of him yet?" Zander added jokingly._

_"Are you kidding? They love having him at the mansion. I'm probably going to have a hard time tearing him away from them when I get out of here. Don't worry about Devon, he's being spoiled rotten as we speak." Emily laughed._

_"I'm sure he is. Between Edward, Lila and your mother, Devon I'm sure is getting the best care. I'm not worried, just that he's been with them a while now ..."_

_"Mom and dad don't mind to watch Devon, they're glad to have him when they get the chance." Emily replied as she snuggled close to him._

_Before Zander realized how exhausted they both were, he found himself drifting off to sleep with his wife in his arms. It wasn't very long before a knock on the door startled him awake. He slipped from Emily's arms and walked to the door. He unlocked the door to see Alexis standing in the hallway waiting for him._

_"I just got off the phone with Ric ... when were you planning on telling me about this deal you made with him?" Alexis snapped._

_"Look, the deal was straightforward and it was done between my brother and I. I didn't want to drag you into this Alexis."_

_"Drag ... me into this? Zander, I'm your attorney of record, don't you think you should of consulted with me first before going and making deals with the DA?"_

_"Alexis I didn't have time to consult with you."_

_She sighed heavily. "Okay, so what kind of deal did you make that you shouldn't of ."_

_"Full immunity ...."_

_"Really ... for what? I mean, there has to be a catch?"_

_"In exchange for the information on the man whose been behind all that's been happening around here for the past 6 months."_

_"And Ric was okay with this?"_

_"Well, not at first .. it took a little convincing, but he went with it."_

_"I don't like the sound of that, Zander." Alexis replied._

_"Ric and I have an understanding ... let's leave it at that." _

_Alexis sighed. "Well, let's just hope this deal of yours don't come back and bite us in the ass."_


	14. Chapter 14

_Ric returned the PCPD and headed straight to his office. Zander might have gotten immunity from the case about Sal and Miguel but he surely didn't have any deals about exporting and importing illegal product. Ric had no other choice but to write out an arrest warrant for his brother. Ric had seen too much and confiscated too much evidence from the warehouse to look the other way. _

_Ric walked into his office and he was startled to see someone sitting in the chair waiting for him._

_"Mom?! What are you doing here?" Ric said as he realized it was his mother waiting for him._

_"I came to visit with you, can't a mother visit her son?"_

_"Yeah you can, but I'm ... quite busy with work at the moment." Ric answered not wanting to write out the arrest warrant in front of their mother, but he had no other choice, he had to act now._

_Ric sat down at his desk and opened a file drawer. He pulled out the proper paperwork for the warrant and began filling out what he needed to. Elenore sat and watched as Ric made a phone call to the courthouse and she listened as Ric asked for the judge to sign a warrant for Zander._

_"You can't do this Ric!" his mother blurted out as she rose from the chair._

_"I can mom and I am. I have evidence on Zander, I can't turn my back on it!"_

_"He's your brother! How can you do this to him?!"_

_"Do this to him? Mom, he's been conducting illegal activities in Port Charles for the last 5 years now, and I've always looked the other way, it's time I stopped and did my job!"_

_Ric grabbed his coat and stormed out of his office, leaving his mother alone worried about what was happening with her two sons. Ric hurried down to the squad room and grabbed a few officers to go with him._

_"Let's go, pick up Zander." Ric ordered._

_"Ric ..." Commissioner Scorpio called._

_Ric turned around to see Mac standing only a few feet from him with a stack of files in his arms._

_"You're doing the right thing." Mac said._

_"I'm just doing my job." Ric turned on his heel and he and the officers walked out of the squad room on their way to serve the arrest warrant on Zander for the illegal product and shipments they had found in the warehouse._

_With Emily asleep still, Alexis and Zander talked for a while in the lounge just outside her room when Zander's cell phone rang._

_"I'm sorry, I have to take this." he said to Alexis as he pulled out his phone and flipped it open._

_"What's going on, Thomas?"_

_"I need you here at the warehouse on Pier 53.....right away."_

_"Okay, I'm on my way." Zander flipped closed the cell phone and said goodbye to Alexis, who became concerned something was going down that needed Zander's attention._

_Ric had the officers positioned out of sight, but he had a clear view of the alley behind the warehouse on Pier 53. He had hoped that Zander was still tending to business as usual, and soon enough, Zander would show to check on the shipments that had come in the night before. He looked down at the warrants he held in his hand, they covered all of Zander's warehouses and the vehicles in Zander's fleet. Ric had covered all his bases this time, there was no way Zander was going to wiggle out this time._

_Thomas was inside the warehouse uncrating the recent shipment when Zander arrived. Ric held back the officers till Zander was inside and then gave him another few minutes just to be sure._

_"Okay ... let's go." Ric ordered into the walkie talkie he held in his hand._

_Zander and Thomas were discussing the manifest as Ric and the officers busted through the back door of the warehouse. It had all happened so fast, there was no time to run and Zander was surprised to see Ric with 4 officers approach him._

_Ric saw Thomas reaching for his 9mm he kept in a shoulder holster. "Don't even think about it." Ric said as one of the officer approached Thomas with caution and took the gun from his side._

_"Alright Ric, what's this all about?" Zander asked._

_"This is an arrest warrant and this is a search warrant." Ric handed his brother two folded documents. "Now turn around, I believe you know the drill."_

_Zander rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe this was happening. "How could you do this to me Ric?!"_

_"Why is everyone asking me that! This is my job, Zander. I am here arresting a criminal ... that is you, right?" Ric said as he turned his brother around to face him. _

_"I thought we had a deal?!"_

_"We have a deal on the murders of Sal and Miguel ... we have no deal for illegal product distribution and possession." Ric smirked._

_"You have got to be kidding!"_

_"Does it look like I'm kidding, Zander? I have enough evidence on you, I can't turn a blind eye on this one. I'm sorry, Zander, not this time."_

_The officers had cuffed Thomas and Zander and walked them out to the squad cars that were parked out behind the warehouse._

_As they got to the squad car, Ric turned Zander towards him. "You told me once to do what I had to do, it's my job as DA. Well guess what, my job as DA is making sure criminals that make their lives here in Port Charles get arrested, and unfortunately, brother dear, you are one of them."_

_"You know Alexis will have me out on bail by tomorrow morning!" Zander barked back as the officer shoved him down into the back seat of the squad car and slammed the door._

_Ric turned away from the car and started to walk back to his unmarked vehicle .... "I don't think Alexis can even help you this time."_


	15. Chapter 15

_Ric and the officers walked thru the squad room doors with Zander and Thomas both in silver bracelets. "Take a seat ...." Ric said as he showed Zander the chair by the officer's desk._

_"Hey .. I get a phone call." Zander said and Ric handed him the receiver from the phone that sat on the desk._

_"You have one call, so you better make it Alexis."_

_Zander dialed the phone and called his attorney._

_"I need you. I'm at the PCPD."_

_Zander hung up the phone and looked on as the officer talked with Thomas, who sat at the next desk over from where Zander was sitting. Alexis was right, yet again. The deal that he had made with Ric had come back and bit him, and he couldn't help but think about what all this was going to do to his family. _

_It wasn't long before Alexis arrived at the PCPD and found Zander sitting in a chair, handcuffed to the wooden arms. "What's going on here, Ric?" she barked as she approached her client, Ric sitting at the desk filling out paperwork._

_"What's going on here, counselor is that I am charging your client with possession, distribution and trafficking of an illegal substance. And before you even ask if I have proof ....." Ric reached in the box that sat on the floor next to the desk and pulled the evidence from the box and laid it on the table. Zander laid his head back and closed his eyes because he knew Ric had him dead to rights with what he's got in that box behind the desk._

_"And you had a search warrant for that?" Alexis asked, her mind thinking quickly of a way to get Zander out of this mess._

_"Yes I do." Ric pulled the search warrant from his jacket pocket and handed it to Alexis. "This collar is by the book, counselor."_

_"May I see you a minute?" Alexis asked as she motioned to Ric she wanted to see him in private._

_Ric got up from his seat and followed her into the interrogation room, closing the door behind him._

_"What are you doing? Do you even know?!" Alexis questioned._

_"Look I'm not liking this any more then you are, Alexis! But I cannot sit by and watch my brother do his dirty dealings right underneath my nose!"_

_"Okay, what about Zander's deal? He told me .."_

_"Yeah Zander and I have a deal ... I gave him immunity for the murders of Sal and Miguel. Not for drug possession and distribution!"_

_"Do you know what this is going to do to Emily?! Do you even care about your brother or his family?! Ric you can't do this to him and you know damn well that you left very little wiggle room for me to help him!"_

_Ric hung his head because he knew she was right. He didn't think far enough ahead to consider Emily and Zander's family, he was focused more on taking down Zander's operation then what would happen when he did._

_"Okay what about a deal, Ric? A lesser charge, suspended sentence ...?" Alexis continued hoping Ric would realize that what he was doing. "Help me here, Ric ... give me something."_

_Ric pondered Alexis's offer, but need more time to go over a few things before he'd give her a definite answer. "Look, I'll think about it, that's the best I can do for now."_

_Ric walked out of the interrogation room and back to the desk to finish up the paperwork, Alexis followed and asked to see her client._

_"May I see my client now?"_

_Ric agreed and had Zander uncuffed from the chair, they walked into the interrogation room and Alexis closed the door for privacy._

_"Has he lost his mind?!" Zander shouted at Alexis and she offered him a seat._

_"Ric's doing what he thinks is the right thing to do."_

_"The right thing to do? Does he know that this will destroy my family?! I'm not too concerned about my business but Emily will be devastated and not too mention she's at risk right now, Alexis! Being arrested could not of come at a worse time!"_

_"I know, Zander .. I told him that. I'm working on a deal."_

_"What kind of a deal?"_

_"A lesser charge and a suspended sentence."_

_"Alexis, do you know what Ric has in evidence? He's not going to go for that, especially when he has my entire shipment! He's got me over a barrel and he knows it."_

_"Let's not get ahead of ourselves with thinking the worst of your brother ...." her thought interrupted by Ric walking into the room. Ric came in and closed the door behind him._

_"Okay, you know I've got you on a list of charges that will send your ass to Pentonville for the next 30 years ... BUT, I've thought about it and made a few phone calls."_

_"And ... you're willing to deal with my client?"_

_"IF he can give me what I want." Ric teased._

_"What more do you want, Ric .... I've already given you more then enough for the immunity deal."_

_"I want the bigger fish, Zander ..... if I get him, I'll deal to a lesser charge, suspended sentence and you go home to your wife and family. If not, well then ....."_

_"If not then .. what? You're gonna send your own brother to prison?!" Alexis spoke up._

_"Wait, so if I give you my contact, I'll walk on these charges plus our immunity deal still stands?"_

_"That about sums it up." Ric answered waiting to hear Zander's decision._

_"You know what that does to me Ric? That will put the biggest red target on my forehead, bigger then one I already have on for Jason! ..... " Zander sat and thought about the options he was facing._

_"No ... no way. I'm not giving up my contact."_

_"You better re-think that Zander ... the deal isn't on the table very long. Remember you have Emily to think about and your children." Ric hoping to play on Zander's weaknesses to get what he wanted from him._

_"If I do this deal, Ric ... I'm signing my death warrant as well as my family's. I am not putting them in any more danger then they are already in!"_

_"With the evidence I have against you, Zander .... your children will have their own children when you next see them, do you want that?! Do you want Emily to raise those children alone for the next 15 to 20 years? Do you?!"_

_Alexis stepped in and backed Ric off of Zander. "Give me a few minutes with him..."_

_"Fine .. but like I said, this deal is fading fast, so if you want it, you better jump at it pretty quick." Ric walked out of the interrogation room and closed the door, leaving Zander to ponder the consequences of making the deal to save his life from prison or to make the deal and sign his death warrant._


	16. Chapter 16

_Alexis placed both her hands on top of the table and leaned in towards Zander. He avoided looking at her by looking at the shiny silver bracelets he was wearing._

_"Look at me..." Alexis said and Zander looked up._

_"You need to take this deal Ric is offering you. You have Emily and your children to think about, Zander. You can't very well protect them from behind bars."_

_"Yeah well I can't very well protect them if I'm dead! And taking Ric's deal will just be signing my death warrant, Alexis!"_

_"Look, you signed your death warrant when you took over your father's business, Zander and Emily married you regardless, cause she loves you and she knows you will protect her! She trusts you! You can't go to prison and leave her with Devon, unprotected. You have no other choice but to take Ric's deal!"_

_Zander couldn't imagine his life without Emily and his children, they are his world. He couldn't let his children grow up without a father and making the decision to take the prison term would be leaving without a father for the next 20 years. Alexis was right, he can't protect his family from behind bars. He had no other choice but to take Ric's deal._

_Alexis saw Zander was thinking over his options and excused herself from the room to talk with Ric. Perhaps leaving Zander to think on what she said would change his mind. She left the interrogation room and closed the door behind her, Ric meeting her when she emerged._

_"So .. did you talk some sense into him?"_

_"I tried, I'm hoping he makes the right decision."_

_"I hope so too, for Emily's sake. She needs him."_

_"Yeah she does. Do you really need his contact, it sounds like he gave you plenty for the immunity deal?" Alexis asked._

_"You know the deal, Alexis .... Zander gives us the contact and I'll make sure things are in order for him to get a suspended sentence on these new charges."_

_Ric and Alexis turned towards the interrogation room as Zander emerged and walked towards them. "The deal still on the table?"_

_"You're doing the right thing, Zander." Alexis said as she stepped forward._

_"Oh one catch though." Zander said as Ric pulled out the paperwork._

_"What's that?"_

_"Thomas is included in this deal." Zander replied and looked over towards Thomas still sitting and handcuffed to the chair._

_Ric sighed. "Okay, you give me your contact and you and Thomas can go. I'll work out the deals and give them to Alexis."_

_A smile came over Zander's face. "So, tell me ... the contact?" Ric asked._

_"Can we not do this out here in the open?" Alexis led the way back into the interrogation room, Ric and Zander followed._

_Zander took a seat at the long metal table and Ric sat down across from him. Alexis closed the door and went to Zander's side of the table as Ric reached into his coat pocket for a pen. There was a tablet laying on the table in front of Zander and Ric laid the pen on top for Zander to use to write down what Ric wanted to know._

_"Okay Zander, tell me .... who's your contact?"_

_Zander took the pen in his hand and wrote down his contact's name on the tablet in front of him. He turned the tablet around for Ric to read the name he had written down._

_"You have got to be kidding!" Ric blurted out._

_"Ric, you wanted my contact and now you have him. I cannot help it he's on a cold, hard slab in the morgue." Zander snickered._

_"Sal Morales is .. was your contact?!" Ric replied as Zander smiled at him._

_"Well, Sal had been and then Miguel took over the last few years ...."_

_"They came to Port Charles to see you ..."_

_"Unfortunately yes they did."_

_"Now I see why you wanted the immunity deal!"_

_"Yeah, and now you can uncuff me, I have a wife who needs me." Zander replied as he showed Ric the handcuffs that still wrapped his wrists._

_Ric pushed himself away from the table and got up from his seat. He stormed out of the interrogation room and an officer came in to release Zander. Zander and Alexis walked back into the squad room and he noticed Thomas was still cuffed to the chair._

_Zander cleared his throat and Ric glared in his direction._

_"And Thomas? He was part of the deal, Ric." Zander said as he pointed towards Thomas._

_Ric motioned for an officer to release Zander's man from the chair. Some of the officers in the squad room blocked the doorway and Zander from leaving._

_"He's free to go ...." Ric said and shook his head for the officers to move out of Zander's way._

_As Zander walked towards the door, he heard the loud bang of Ric's clenched fist hitting the top of the metal desk in frustration and disgust._

_Zander stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around to look back at his brother, as Alexis walked up behind Zander and coaxed him thru the doors of the PCPD and out onto the front stoop._

_Zander gave Alexis a warm thank you kiss on the cheek .... "If you need me, I'll be at the hospital with my wife."_

_Zander and Thomas walked down the front steps of the PCPD, leaving Alexis standing alone as she cracked a smile while watching him walk to the limo that was waiting for him. She thought it strange that the street was empty, the silence was deafening, but that was shattered when gunfire echoed through the desolate city street and Zander suddenly fell to the ground._

_He laid lifeless underneath the lit streetlamp, Thomas lay with him. Alexis watched as the gunman ran towards a car that was waiting for him, Ric and other officers came running out of the police station when they heard the shots._

_"Someone call an ambulance, we've got two men shot out here!" Ric yelled back as he raced down the cement stairs to his brother's side._

_A few of the officers raced to their cars and gave chase to the car that sped away into the night. Sirens shrilled as the police cars took after the suspect, Alexis and Ric rushed to Zander._

_Hoping Zander was still alive, Ric turned him over and checked for a pulse, there was one but it was faint. Alexis knelt down by Zander and laid his head in her lap, she caressed his face and smoothed back his hair as tears stained her cheeks._

_"We gotta do something, Ric!" Alexis worried and in a panic._

_"There is so much blood, this can't all be Zander's." Ric noticed as he went to Thomas, who was lying next to Zander._

_"Is he ....." Alexis asked as she sat with Zander's head in her lap._

_"No, he's alive, but barely. Where is that ambulance?!"_

_Officers began taping off the scene as they were instructed to do by Mac, who had come down the stairs to assess the situation._

_Ric stood up and was met by Mac._

_"Was it a hit?" Mac asked as he observed the two victims lying at his feet._

_"Yeah I think so."_

_"The shots came from .... across the street." Alexis pointed. "He took off down the sidewalk to a car that was waiting for him at the end of the block." she explained as the ambulance sirens could be heard as it approached._

_"Well we have officers in pursuit, we'll get him." Mac said and he saw the medics had arrived._

_Alexis held onto Zander as the paramedics came onto the scene, their medical supplies in hand. One attended to Thomas as the other one knelt down beside Zander._

_"Ma'am you're going to have to get out of the way, so we can work on him." the paramedic said to Alexis as the evaluated Zander's wounds._

_"I'm not leaving him!" Alexis exclaimed tearfully as Ric came up behind her and tried to pull her back._

_"Come on, Alexis, let the men do their jobs ..." he said as she looked up at him, tears could be seen on her cheeks._

_Zander's blood stained Alexis's shirt and hands as Ric pulled her back from the scene, she focused still on Zander and watched as the paramedics worked feverishly on him. The officers around them treated the scene as a crime scene and one began to ask questions of her. She concentrating on Zander and not on anyone else, ignoring the officer who stood in front of her._

_Ric wrapped his arm around her ...."Zander's going to be alright. He has to be." tears fell from Ric's eyes as he spoke._

_Alexis turned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Ric motioned for the officer to leave, that it was the wrong time to be asking questions from Alexis. The paramedics got Zander and Thomas both on gurneys and rushed them to the ambulance that was waiting. Alexis noticed and left Ric's arms to be with Zander._

_"I'm going with him!" Alexis demanded as she approached the paramedics._

_"I can't let you do that, ma'am ..." _

_"I said I'm going with him!" she shouted again and tried to get into the ambulance. Ric came up behind her and his hands grabbed onto her arms and pulled her back._

_"Go! Go! We'll meet you at the hospital!" he ordered the paramedics._

_Alexis turned into him, and glared. "Zander needs me! How could you let him go without me?!" she cried angrily, the ambulance's sirens could be heard as it pulled away._

_"I know he does .. we'll meet them at the hospital. Come on, I'll drive."_


	17. Chapter 17

_Alexis and Ric raced through the emergency room doors looking for anyone who could tell them about Zander and his condition. They were immediately met by Bobbie, who had just gotten the page that there had been a shooting._

_"Bobbie! How is he?" Alexis asked as she tried to pull herself together._

_"How's who?" Bobbie asked as she was in a hurry to get to the patient the paramedics had brought in._

_"Zander, he was just brought in with a .... gun shot wound ..." Alexis replied as Bobbie was headed back to the triage area of the ER._

_"Gimme a few minutes ... " Bobbie replied and left Alexis with Ric in the waiting area of the ER._

_Alexis turned into Ric's arms. "He's going to be alright?" she asked looking for reassurance from Ric._

_"Zander's in very capable hands, Alexis. He's gonna be alright."_

_"Emily ...." Alexis pulled back from Ric's arms._

_"I'm sure someone will tell her ...." he replied as he wrapped his arm around Alexis and led her to a chair to sit down._

_"It shouldn't just be someone, Ric ... she shouldn't hear this on the evening news or from some duty nurse."_

_"Let's wait and see what Bobbie has to tell us and then we'll figure it out. Okay?" Ric tried consoling Alexis the best he could, but he was worried about his brother as well._

_As they sat waiting for word on Zander's condition, two police officers walked into the ER looking for Alexis. The two burly officers were looking for some answers to tonight's shooting. But to their surprise, Ric wasn't having any of it. Alexis had been through enough and she wasn't in any condition to be bombarded with questions from two rookie cops._

_The two rookies started giving Ric a hard time._

_"Look, my brother is in there fighting for his life, and you want to ask questions?!" Ric barked at the two rookies._

_"But ... you're .." the one rookie stammered._

_"Yeah I know who I am, now leave before I have both your badges!" Ric threatened to the two rookies._

_The rookies turned to walk away when Bobbie approached Ric and Alexis who were waiting in the lounge area. Alexis noticed Bobbie approaching and got up quickly, hoping there had been some news._

_"Well, how is he?" Alexis rushed to Bobbie concerned about Zander._

_"He's being prepped for surgery, the doctors are not sure on his prognosis. Alexis, he's in very capable hands. I'll be back when he's out of surgery."_

_Ric steady Alexis from behind as he wrapped his arms around her. "There has to be more you can tell us, Bobbie?"_

_"I'm sorry, Alexis, there isn't. We're just not sure where the bullets are lodged until we get in there. I'm telling you all I know right now."_

_"Bullets?"_

_"Yes, bullets. Zander took a few hits, but we're doing everything we can to save him. I'm sorry I don't have more info for you." Bobbie left Alexis with Ric, both frantic with concern._

_Alexis turned into Ric's arms as tears began to stream down her cheeks, obviously upset as Ric held her against him and comforted her the best he could._

_"Zander's strong, he'll get through this Alexis." Ric replied in a soothing voice._

_She pulled back from his arms and dried her tears with her hand. "You know as well as I do, Ric, we don't know that for sure. Ric, he could die! I couldn't handle that, Ric!"_

_"I know, so we have to be strong for him, and stay positive, we can't give up on him. You know Zander, he's stubborn, he's not going to give up, he has too much to live for, Alexis."_

_Ric held her in his arms for a few more moments, then he realized he should be making a few phone calls to family, his mom should know and someone should be with Emily._

_"Are you going to be alright, I should call our mother and tell her. She shouldn't hear this on the tv news or the radio."_

_Alexis nodded that she would be alright .."What about Emily, we need to tell her."_

_"We will, we'll got together and tell her, she'll need both of us there for support." Ric smiled and then left for a few minutes to call his mother._

_Ric returned and he along with Alexis walked somberly to tell Emily what had happened. When they reached Emily's room, Ric entered, Alexis followed close behind. Ric closed the door, Alexis stood in silence as she focused her eyes on the floor. Emily felt there was something wrong just by Ric and Alexis's lack of words to her. She saw it in their faces that something bad had happened to her husband and as Ric steadied her for the news, Alexis held onto her hand._

_Emily's cries echoed thru the empty corridors of the hospital as Ric and Alexis broke the news to her. Alexis sat with Emily while Ric went to meet his mother who was to arrive at the hospital. While Ric was gone, Emily and Alexis comforted each other, both were worried and afraid for Zander who was still in surgery._

_"He's going to be okay, right Alexis .. please tell me he's going to be alright." Emily sobbed._

_"They're doing all that they can for him, Em ... Bobbie said they won't know anything till they get him into surgery, but he's in very capable hands." Alexis replied not wanting to make matters worse by saying something she shouldn't._

_"I want to go to the chapel and say a prayer for him, would you go with me?" Emily asked as she dried her tears._

_"Sure, I'll go with you." Alexis not at all religious but she knew it was important to Emily to find some comfort during this time._

_Alexis pulled over the wheelchair that sat in the corner of Emily's room to the bed and assisted Emily into it. She grabbed the blanket that lay across the foot of the bed and laid across her lap for warmth. Alexis put on Emily's slippers and then went to prop open the door._

_Alexis wheeled Emily down the hall to the chapel so they could light a candle and say a prayer for Zander, who was hanging on to dear life._

_"He thinks alot of you, Alexis." Emily said as she sat with Alexis staring at the lit candles._

_"I know he does, and I think alot of him."_

_The two of them sat and each saying a little prayer for Zander, and Alexis thought, if miracles were real and really did happen, she had hoped that one of those miracles would happen for Zander now._


	18. Chapter 18

_Ric walked into the waiting room of the ER where he had told his mother to meet him, she not knowing the hospital, he wanted to be sure she wouldn't get lost, the ER was the best place for them to meet. As he rounded the nurse's station, he saw Elenore sitting in the chairs waiting for him. He walked up to her and she stood up to greet him with a hug._

_"How is he?" she asked as Ric held her in his arms._

_"We don't know, he's in surgery."_

_"Emily? Does she know?"_

_"Alexis and I told her a short time ago, she took the news as I expected she would."_

_"Take me to her, please, Ric."_

_Ric did as his mother asked and walked with her back to Emily's room. When they arrived, the room was empty. The guard outside Emily's room told Ric that Alexis had taken her to the chapel. Ric and his mother walked down the corridor towards the chapel, in the hopes of finding Emily there with Alexis._

_Emily and Alexis sat in the first pew, Emily leaning on her for support, and neither had heard Ric and Elenore enter the chapel. They walked up to Emily and Alexis, Emily looking up to see Elenore standing there with her arms open. With Ric's help, Emily stood up from the pew and embraced Zander' s mother._

_"I'm so sorry, Emily." Elenore said softly._

_"I know, but Zander's going to be okay, he has to be."_

_"We should be getting you back to your room, you know the doctor still has you on bedrest." Alexis reminded Emily and she nodded in agreement._

_Ric helped Emily back into the wheelchair and pushed her back to her room, Elenore and Alexis following close behind. The four of them waited in Emily's room, for what seemed like hours, until they had heard anything about Zander. Ric decided not to wait, he went looking to find someone who could give him some answers, leaving Elenore and Alexis with Emily._

_Ric walked out into the hallway, where he was met by Bobbie who was returning from the OR, to discuss with Emily, Zander's condition. _

_"So ..... how is he?" Ric asked anxious to hear about his brother._

_Bobbie didn't say anything, just led the way back to Emily's room, where the others were waiting. "I think it's best I tell all of you together." Bobbie finally spoke as she and Ric stood outside Emily's room._

_Emily sat herself up in the bed when she saw Bobbie enter her room with Ric leading. He held back and Bobbie went to Emily's side, she had a somber look on her face, and Emily knew it wasn't good news about Zander._

_"Bobbie? He is okay, isn't he? Please tell me he's okay." Emily sniffled back the tears the best she could._

_"He's out of surgery and they'll be taking him to the ICU on the 4th floor, but it will be a while till he wakes up. The doctors have requested only immediate family may visit. It took a while but they retrieved all the bullets, without complications ....." Bobbie stopped mid-thought, like there was something she wasn't telling._

_"What is it? Tell me!" Emily cried._

_"Because of where the one bullet was lodged, Zander's quite bruised and his cord is inflamed and swollen, till the swelling goes down, he ... he won't have use of his legs. The doctors are hopeful though that once the swelling goes down, his legs will be full functional. They're just not sure when that will be."_

_"He doesn't know that though, right?" Ric asked as he stood with Alexis at the foot of Emily's bed._

_"No, he doesn't know that yet, and won't know till he wakes up, which could be another 8 to 12 hours. We're not sure, Zander's always been a fast healer though, so I don't forsee him having any trouble coming out of the anesthesia quickly." Bobbie replied._

_"I want to go be with him." Emily said quickly as she tried to get out of bed on her own._

_"You need to stay in bed, Emily. Zander will be sleeping for quite a while, I'll come back and let you know when he's awake." Bobbie replied as she stopped her from going to her husband._

_"Bobbie, he needs me, I can't just lay here!"_

_"Okay, just so I don't have to worry about you leaving this bed, I will find Dr. Meadows and ask her if it's alright, we don't want to put you or the baby at risk by leaving this room."_

_Emily was satisfied with that. "Okay."_

_"Don't worry about Zander, Ric and I will go sit with him." Elenore spoke up and looked at Bobbie to be sure it was okay for her and Ric to do that. Bobbie nodded in agreement._

_Emily feeling a little better that Zander wouldn't be alone in the ICU, she relaxed back against the pillow. "I'll stay with you if you want?" Alexis said as she laid her hands upon Emily's legs._

_"I'd like that, Alexis ... thank you."_

_Bobbie escorted Elenore and Ric to Zander in the ICU, Alexis took a seat on the swivel stool next to Emily's bed._

_Ric and Elenore stood outside Unit # 2, and saw Zander laying lifeless in the hospital bed, tubes and machines attached to him, and Bobbie noticed the scared look on their faces._

_"One at a time, we don't want to overexcite him with too many visitors just yet." Bobbie smiled caringly._

_Elenore and Ric exchanged glances as to who wanted to go into the room first, and Ric offered Elenore the first chance to sit with her son._

_Bobbie opened the door and walked in with Elenore. She pulled the swivel stool to Zander's bedside and sat down. Elenore reached for Zander's hand, and glanced at Bobbie for reassurance. Bobbie nodded._

_"It's okay, you can hold his hand and talk with him. Trust me, he's listening."_

_Before leaving Zander, Bobbie checked his vitals and stats, making sure all was okay. She smiled at Elenore before leaving tell her that her son was okay._

_Elenore took Zander's hand in hers and held it tightly. She leaned down and held it up to her lips, giving it a motherly kiss. "Zander .... it's mom, I'm here with you sweetheart...." tears began to well in her eyes as she spoke to him._

_Bobbie exited Zander's room, Ric staring through the plexiglass at his brother. "I thought you'd like to know, Zander's guard who was shot also, he'll be out of surgery soon."_

_"Thomas? He's going to make it?" Ric asked._

_"He's holding on for now, we'll have to wait and see."_

_Bobbie walked away leaving Ric focused back on his brother who laid lifeless, yet listening to his mom's soothing voice._

_Zander could feel his mother's touch, he knew she was there with him, and it reassured him to hear her voice. As she spoke to him, he exhausted himself trying to say something, but to no avail. He was yelling inside, but nothing was coming out. It was like he was trapped within his own body. _

_Elenore continued to talk with her son, and Zander unconsciously realized he could at least tell her he was listening and knew she was there by squeezing her hand._

_She wiped her tears and smiled as she felt the light squeeze of Zander's hand on hers. "Zander .... I may not have told you this lately, but .... I love you so much, Zander." Elenore sniffled back the tears as she held her son's hand to her lips._

_Trying to get the words out but couldn't, Zander's words just echoed through his body .... "I love you too, mom."_


	19. Chapter 19

_Elenore was unaware of Emily's presence in the room as Alexis wheeled her in to see Zander. "How is he?" Emily asked and startled Elenore._

_"He's the same, dear."_

_"May I?" Emily asked implying she'd like to sit with her husband._

_"Oh sure, dear. Alexis and I will go get some coffee or something." Elenore replied as she and Alexis left Emily with Zander._

_Emily wheeled herself to Zander's bedside and reached for his hand to hold it. She quickly felt a light squeeze and she knew that he realized she was there with him. She brought his hand to her lips and softly kissed it as tears welled in her eyes._

_"Zander .. baby, I know you can hear me." she whispered to him as her other hand brushed back the nagging forelock from his eyes._

_"I want you to listen to me, okay .... we're going to survive this, you are going to be as good as new soon and I will be here waiting for you." she whimpered as she felt another squeeze on her hand._

_"Devon misses you, he loves his daddy so much." Emily said as she continued to talk to her husband._

_It had been about 6 hours since Zander came out of surgery, and Emily was hoping by now he'd be waking up. She sat a little longer with him, caressing his hand and talking to him, just so he'd know she was there with him._

_As she sat with him, she looked up and saw her parents standing just beyond the plexiglass window. She laid Zander's hand down and wheeled herself out into the hallway, her father holding the door open for her._

_"I hope Dr. Meadows gave you the okay to be out of bed, young lady?" Alan scolded._

_"Dad, I'm not 10 years old anymore. And yes, Dr. Meadows said it was okay for me to out of bed." Emily replied with a smirk._

_"There's no change?" Monica asked about Zander._

_"Not yet, he's still hasn't woken up. And to tell you the truth, I'm scared. He should of woken up by now."_

_Alan stood behind Emily and comforted her as he caressed her shoulders. "Give it a few more hours, he's only been out of surgery 6 hours, sometimes it takes longer for some patients to come out of it."_

_Emily sat with her parents in the waiting area across the corridor from Zander's room, she wanted to be near him in case he woke up._

_"How's Devon? Is he being a good little boy for you?" Emily asked._

_"Devon is just fine, he's really keeping Alice on her toes." They all chuckled at the thought._

_"I just wanted to thank you both for taking care of Devon while all this is going on."_

_"There is no need to thank us, Emily. Devon is our grandson, of course we would take good care of him for you."_

_"I know, but I also know how Dad and Zander are, and ...."_

_"And Devon is no part of that. Zander and I have problems yes, and probably always will, but I don't hold that against Devon."_

_"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that the two of you ...." Emily hung her head as she realized what her words had sounded like to her parents._

_The three of them were startled to hear the alarm coming from one of machines in Zander's room. Monica rushed into the room to see what had happened, while Alan wheeled Emily to the doorway and told her to wait._

_"Zander! ....." Emily cried out to her husband._

_Monica checking the machines to find which one's alarm was blaring, and soon the sound stopped. As Monica turned off the alarm, she noticed a pair of eyes staring up at her._

_"Sorry." Zander whispered to her as a smile came over Monica's face._

_Alan realized that Zander had woken up and wheeled Emily to his bedside._

_Zander felt Emily's hand intertwine with his and he rolled his head towards her and smiled._

_"Hi ..." he whispered, his throat feeling like cotton._

_"Hi." Emily smiled at him so glad that he was awake._

_"We're going to leave the two of you alone, but only if you, Zander promise not to pull anymore alarms."_

_Zander smiled, wanting to laugh, but it hurt too much. Monica took his smile as a promise and she and Alan left Emily with her husband._

_"Aren't you .." the words barely escaped Zander's lips, he trying to talk but with the cotton feeling in his throat, it was making it difficult._

_"Shhh .. don't try to talk, okay. And yes I'm suppose to be in bed, but Dr. Meadows said it would be okay if I came and sat with you for a while." Emily reassuring her husband that she would be okay there with him._

_She drew his hand to her lips and kissed them softly, thankful he was alive and grateful that he would be able to see his children grow up. It was her worst fear that Zander wouldn't be able to see his children grow up and be happy. She felt his hand caress her jaw and she leaned into it. _

_Zander wanted to tell her just how much he loved her, and it took all that was within him to do so. "I love you so much, Zander." she whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes._

_"I .... love you .. too."_


	20. Chapter 20

_Ric had heard that Zander had woke up and rushed to his brother's bedside. He found Alexis and his mother standing outside the room, their noses pressed against the plexi-glass window, just watching Zander with Emily._

_"Hey, I got here as quickly as I could." Ric said to Alexis when he arrived._

_"Any word on who did this?" she asked as Ric tried to catch is breath._

_"We don't have anyone in custody yet, but we're pretty sure on who it was. It's just a matter of time before we catch him."_

_Alan approached them and asked to speak with Zander before Ric went in to talk with him. Ric agreed and Alan entered Zander's room._

_"So, how are you feeling?" Alan asked as he picked up Zander's chart and reviewed it._

_"Like I got hit by a truck." Zander replied and Alan chuckled._

_"Yeah that's to be expected after what you've been through. I just stopped by to check on you."_

_Alan stood at the foot of Zander's bed and pulled back the blankets to reveal his bare feet. It had been quite a few hours since the surgery but Alan wasn't expecting the swelling to go down quickly. "Tell me if you feel anything, okay?"_

_Emily kept Zander's attention towards her so he couldn't see what Alan was going to do. She had been through these tests before and she knew what was coming, she hoped Zander would feel the pen running up and down the bottom of his foot as she smiled at him._

_Alan ran the bottom of his pen light up and down the bottom of Zander's bare foot, and he noticed he flinched at the sensation. Zander smiled and turned to look at Alan._

_"You felt that?" Alan said looking for confirmation from Zander._

_"Yeah I did. But I also feel some sensations, like tingles in my legs."_

_"You will for a while, but it's a good sign that you felt the pen light on the bottom of your feet. The tingling will subside, as the swelling surrounding your spinal cord goes down, you'll get more and more feeling back in your legs and feet. I think right now it's safe to say that you will make a full recovery." Alan explained._

_While the blanket was pulled up, and Zander's feet exposed, Alan asked him to wiggle his toes. Alan wanted to make sure he had the movement as well as the feelings. Zander did what Alan asked him to, and he smiled._

_"Yeah, you're gonna be just fine. But we still need you to get some rest. It's going to be the best medicine for you right now and try not to move around too much, you have many stitches in you, and I don't want you opening them up. I'll check back later." Alan said and then left the room, the family waiting to hear Zander's prognosis._

_"So .... " Elenore began waiting for Alan to tell them what they had hoped to hear._

_"Zander's going to be just fine. But he needs his rest, so let's try to keep the visitors to a minimum." Alan suggested._

_Alan left the family and went on his rounds, as Ric stepped into the doorway and Emily turned to see him standing there. She motioned for him to come and Zander saw his brother standing at the foot of the bed._

_"Hey little brother." Ric said as Emily wheeled herself out of the way, so Ric could get closer._

_"Hey .. you've been here the whole time?"_

_"Actually I've been chasing down the bad guys."_

_"Oh, well you didn't have to go to far..." Zander replied, referring to himself as being one of them._

_"Yeah well, I was chasing down the bad guys who shot you and Thomas."_

_"And ... did you catch 'em?" Emily asked._

_"Not yet, but we're close. We're pretty sure who contracted the hit, it's just a matter of following the paper trail to lead us to the trigger man."_

_Zander winced as he tried to push himself up on the bed. "I had never seen the guy before, so who ever hired him certainly knew that I had been hauled in and was sitting waiting for me and Thomas to come out of the PCPD."_

_"Well, according to what we recovered at the scene, which wasn't much, we determined this guy was a professional."_

_"Yeah but professionals usually don't work with anyone else, Ric. I heard a car leave the scene."_

_"True, but if the person who hired the gunman to kill you, wanted to see his work, don't you think he'd make sure he had a front row seat for the show?"_

_"The only person who would gain from this is Lorenzo Alcazar."_

_"Yes but there are also those who work for Morales, they would have much to gain by having you dead."_

_"I'm thinking that the person who shot at Emily is the same person who shot me."_

_Ric shrugged. "Makes sense. Thing is this person isn't the mind behind the operation, there are bigger fish beyond him, he's just the guy who they hired to take you out."_

_It suddenly got very crowded in Zander's room, as Dr. Meadows came looking for her patient. "Emily, I think it's time for you to get back to bed. You and your baby need your rest too."_

_Zander still weak and growing tired, reached for his wife. Ric stepped out of the way so Emily could get closer to her husband._

_"You do what the doctor tells you, okay?" he said hoping she'd listen to him._

_"Yeah but ..."_

_"No buts ... you and the baby need your rest. I'll be fine. I don't want you to worry, okay." Zander smiled and reached up his hand and caressed her face._

_Emily nodded in agreement. She knew he was right, she did have to take care of herself and their baby and she was getting a little tired. She kissed the palm of his hand and smiled. "I love you, so much."_

_"I love you too, baby.." Zander replied as Ric took a hold of the handle bars on the wheel chair and pulled Emily from his reach, their hands still reaching for one another._

_Dr. Meadows followed Ric and Emily out of Zander's room, Zander watching his wife leave his side and his mother enter the room after her._

_"Care for some company?" Elenore said as she sat down next to her son._

_"I would love it if you'd sit with me till I fall asleep?" Zander remembered how his mom used to tuck him in bed at night when he was a kid. She used to sit with him till he fell asleep, sometimes. Having her near him was always a comforting feeling for him._

_"Sure...." she smiled._

_Zander smiled and closed his eyes, he was more exhausted then he thought, and soon he was sleeping peacefully, while his mother sat by his side and held his hand, just like she used to._

_"I want you to get some rest now, Emily." Dr. Meadows instructed her very pregnant patient._

_Ric helped Emily from the wheel chair to the bed and tucked her. She smiled at his bedside manner and laid her head back against the soft plush pillows._

_"Thanks Ric ..." Emily said and she yawned._

_Ric smiled in return and walked towards the door as if to leave but turned around ready to say something. "We're going to get him, you know?"_

_"I'm sure you will do everything you can to catch them."_

_"I promise you right now, we will catch them and they will pay for this."_

_Emily was confident in Ric's abilities as an officer of the court, she knew when he said they'd pay for shooting Zander, he meant it and he wouldn't rest until all those involved were in prison for a very long time._


	21. Chapter 21

_"Zander's still alive and latest report is that he's going to make a full recovery." said the voice on the other end of Lorenzo's cell phone._

_"Dammit!!! I swear that guy has 9 lives!" Lorenzo shouted as he took his anger and frustration out on his cell phone and threw it against the wall of his apartment._

_"Look on the bright side, boss, he's only got 5 more lives left." _

_"He wouldn't have any more lives left if you would of done a better job!"_

_"Hey we can try again .." _

_"No ... we can't Greg, this was a one shot deal! The cops are going to be all over this like ugly on an ape, we can't take the chance try it again."_

_"Look, Zander trusts me, he's got me second in command now, there's no way he suspects one of his own. Lorenzo, I can do this .. I want to do this." _

_"My question to is why? Why do want Zander dead? He's been good to you for a long time, Greg."_

_"I'm tired of being the second, I want to be first for a change. You know how it works in this business Lorenzo, never getting your hands dirty, it's always the other guy who takes care of things for you, yet you get all the credit. Zander would be a big feather in my cap, Lorenzo."_

_"Oh so your doing this for notoriety? You want your name in the paper saying that you were the one who took out Zander Smith, big time mob boss? Are you crazy or just plain stupid? No one does this for the glory, it's all about money and power, not for some front page news story!"_

_"Look, I pretty much come from nothing, Lorenzo. Yeah the money is a major part of it, but so is recognition, acceptance from others like Zander. I've been his henchman for far too long, it's time for me to move up on the food chain. And if that means killing Zander, then .... then so be it."_

_"But see, that's just it ... you had your chance and you fucked it up. I can't take this chance again, Greg. There's too much police activity right now about this shooting. They're soon going to put two and two together and get Lorenzo Alcazar."_

_Greg was obviously disappointed that Lorenzo wasn't going to give him another shot at Zander. In Greg's mind, he didn't need Lorenzo take Zander out and to make it worth his while, he was in perfect position to frame Lorenzo for a killing that he did. A devilish smile came across Greg's face as these thoughts entered his mind, the plan was starting fall into place._

_"Okay fine. You take care of Zander yourself, Lorenzo. But just know that Zander will be back in business and he will still be a thorn in your ass." Greg replied and turned to leave Lorenzo's apartment._

_"Greg, wait." Lorenzo walked towards his desk and then pulled on the drawer to open it up. "Here, it's the last installment." Lorenzo handing Greg a overstuffed white envelope._

_Greg pulled open the envelope and exposed a wad of hundred dollar bills. "What's this for?" he asked shocked that Lorenzo was giving him the money._

_"Consider it severance pay." Lorenzo replied, his eyes stone cold. "Now get out and if you tell anyone about our arrangement, you won't get time to spend it." he threatened._

_Greg left Lorenzo's apartment and stood out in the hallway, grinning once again, the pieces to his plan were falling very nicely into place. He stuffed the envelope in his jacket pocket and left the apartment building, heading back to the warehouse. With Thomas and Zander both in the hospital, the warehouse was in need of someone to look after the shipment that was due later that night._

_As Greg walked down on the docks towards the warehouse, he was met by a few of Zander's other hired hands. Greg stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed them blocking his path._

_"Gregory ... in a hurry to get someplace?" Cory asked as he smoothed out Gregory's suit jacket with his strong hands._

_"I'm heading over to the warehouse." he replied standing his ground and not letting on that he had just come from seeing Lorenzo by being nervous._

_"Oh, well ... we got the warehouse covered, we just came from there. Unless there was another reason you were headed there?" Cory said suspicious about Greg's motives for wanting to be at the warehouse._

_"Oh, okay .. I just wanted to check a few things out .. thinking you guys might need some help, you know with Thomas and the boss in ...."_

_"Yeah we know ... I have one question for you though before you go." Cory replied as Greg made a step to walk away and Cory stopped him._

_"What's that?" Greg asked as he felt his heart racing, hoping they didn't notice the over stuffed pocket of his suit jacket._

_"If you're here, then who's at the hospital protecting Zander and Emily? Weren't you on guard detail?"_

_Greg sighed a relief. "Frank's on Zander and I got Marcus to cover Emily's room. Don't worry, about it, I got it handled." he smiled._

_Cory raised an eye brow suspiciously and then left Greg go. He had a feeling there was more to Greg then any of them knew. He wasn't ready to bring his suspicions to Zander just yet, he wanted more proof that Greg had betrayed the organization._

_Cory pulled two of them with him closer. "You watch him like a hawk. You got me. I don't want him out of your sight for a minute."_

_"You think something's up?" Trent asked as he watched Greg walk further and further away from them._

_"Yeah I do .. and it isn't good." Cory replied and then motioned for them to go._

_"You really think there's something going on, Cor?" Wade asked._

_"Yeah I do ... there's just something going on with Greg, I just can't put my finger on it. Come on, let's go see Zander and Thomas."_

_The two burly men took the stairs and headed for the hospital._

_Trent and Jerry followed Greg close behind, but not close enough that Greg noticed. "I think Cory's paranoid, Greg isn't that stupid to betray the organization." the words slipped from Trent's mouth._

_"Are you sure about that, Trent? I mean there would a whole lot of money involved if he did." Jerry replied._

_"Yeah but Greg should know that if Zander found out, he wouldn't live long enough to spend it."_

_"This true, doing something that stupid would be signing your own death warrant. But this is Greg we're talking about." The two men chuckled at Jerry's remark and soon they had arrived at the warehouse, where in a few hours would be filled with brand new product._

_Trent still laughing under his breath .... "Come on, we got work to do."_


	22. Chaper 22

_Cory and Wade walked into the ICU area looking for Zander's room. Ric was standing outside watching as his mother sat with Zander while he slept._

_"You lost, DA Lansing?" Cory asked as he and Wade approached._

_"No Cory I'm not lost, I just stopped by to see my brother before going back to the station."_

_Elenore emerged from the room when she heard voices in the hallway. "Do you guys mind? This is a hospital."_

_"Sorry ... we just came by too see how Zander was doing." Wade spoke up and glanced into Zander's room._

_"The boss man is doing fine!" Zander shouted from his bed loud enough so his men could hear that he was awake._

_Cory and Wade went to Zander's bedside while Elenore and Ric watched on from outside the room._

_"Aren't the two of you suppose to be at the warehouse with Greg?" Zander asked as his men stood next to him._

_"Yeah, that's what we came to talk with you about."_

_"There's a problem?"_

_"Yeah there could be." Cory replied and Wade nudged him to tell Zander what his suspicions were._

_"Do you have something to tell me, Cory?"_

_Cory was hesitant to say anything to his boss about his suspicions until he had more proof on Greg._

_"Tell him Cory ...." Wade nudged a little more for Corry to tell what he thought was going on._

_"I think it's Greg, sir."_

_"Greg? What do you mean you think it's Greg?"_

_"I think he's the one who's behind all that's been going on lately."_

_"You're kidding, right? Greg's as loyal as they come, Cory." Zander replied not wanting to believe what he was hearing from one of his own men._

_"No sir, I'm not kidding. Greg's been acting very strange lately. And tonight the guys and I met up with him on the docks, he was acting very suspiciously, strange you might call it. And I noticed he had something in his suit jacket pocket that made it looked overstuffed."_

_"Overstuffed with what?"_

_"I don't know, sir, we didn't ask, but I suspect a wad of cash, sir."_

_"I want this conversation kept between the three of us, okay. If it is Greg, he'll be dealt with, but I want more then suspicions and theories. Keep your eye on him and report back to me."_

_"Yes sir." Cory and Wade replied simultaneously and turned to walk out._

_"Hey, keep an eye on that shipment tonight, I don't want anything missing."_

_Both Cory and Wade nodded and left Zander alone in the room. Ric saw Zander's men leave and he entered the room right after them._

_"Care to tell me what that was all about?" Ric asked as he walked up to the side of Zander's bed._

_"No .. at least not yet."_

_"Let me guess, your men smelling dissension in the ranks?"_

_"So .. Emily get tucked in okay?" Zander asked avoiding Ric's question about Cory and Wade._

_"Yeah Emily's fine, I want to know why the top secrecy about Cory and Wade?"_

_"Look, it's being handled, nothing for you to be concerned about." Zander replied hoping Ric was satisfied with that._

_"Yeah I've heard that before."_

_"Yeah I know you have, and like the other times before Ric, I'm taking care of it."_

_"Okay ..." Ric replied and backed off the topic of conversation._

_"I can handle my men just fine. I might be stuck in this hospital bed but I'm not dead." Zander boistered_

_" .. Yet." Ric remarked adding his own comment to Zander's thought._

_Zander raised an eyebrow to Ric. "Find anything out on who did this?"_

_"We're working on it."_

_"Well, work a little faster. With me laid up in this bed, Emily is more of a target now then ever before."_

_"She's got Marcus on her door, no?"_

_"Yeah she has Marcus, but there are other ways for someone to get to her and I am not taking any chances!" Zander started to get loud with Ric and he winced at the pain he felt as he tried to lift himself up off the mattress._

_"Look, we'll take care of Emily, you just lie back and relax."_

_Zander fell back down to the mattress, what Ric was saying was easier said then done. He had been shot outside the PCPD, Emily had been terrorized in the safe house, and now he had to be worried one of his own men was the person behind it all. _

_"Ric I can't relax, if what I just heard 10 minutes ago is true, then my family is in danger and I cannot prevent anything from happening while lying in this bed!"_

_"You're not going anywhere, you leave the protecting up to the police department." Ric ordered as he tried to keep Zander in the bed._

_"Oh yeah, that worked quite well the last time, Ric! No thank you, I protect and defend my own, and at the moment, all I have in this entire world is upstairs 3 floors being sitting ducks, I can't let anything happen to them Ric._

_"Look, you don't know for sure what you heard is true, right? It's just theory right now, suspicions?"_

_"Yeah but it's all beginning to make sense, I just don't have the proof."_

_Cory and Wade got back to the warehouse, the shipment had already come in and Greg was taking inventory of what was inside the wooden crates._

_"Everything okay, it's all here?" Cory asked as he and Wade approached Greg._

_"It looks to be ..." Greg answered as he looked down the manifest and double checked the crates._

_"Good. Let's get this stuff uncrated."_

_Zander's men uncrated the recent shipment, Trent keeping his eye on Greg while they worked. Trent and Jerry took inventory one more time before locking up the warehouse for the night. _

_"Okay so who's taking the first watch?" Cory asked as the men stepped out into the cool night air. The moon dimly lit the docks as they stood deciding who was on first detail._

_"Trent and I will take first watch." Jerry volunteered._

_"Alright, Wade and I will go back to the hospital and relieve Frank and Marcus, we'll come back and relieve the two of you in the morning, Greg can stand watch on the inside."_

_Greg took his post, leaving the other four men outside the warehouse alone. "You and Jerry go relieve Frank and Marcus, Wade and I will take detail here." Cory said as they huddled together underneath the overhead floodlight._

_"Something going on, Cory" Jerry asked._

_"I don't know, but there could be trouble tonight, keep your radios on." Trent said implying that Greg would make a mistake soon._

_"You're not saying that Greg would take this shipment, are you?"_

_"That's exactly what I'm saying. Do you know how much money is sitting in this warehouse?"_

_"Yeah but Greg? Who would he be dumb enough to hook up with? He's certainly not doing all this by himself."_

_"I don't know that yet. I want keep my eye on him tonight, maybe he'll make a slip and all this can be over and Zander and his family can be safe."_

_As soon as the detail was distribute amongst the 5 men, they all dispersed to their posts for the night._

_Ric left Zander's room and headed back to the station. He had officers on Zander's shooting, hunting down evidence and pursuing suspects, but none of his efforts were resulting in the answers he needed. He sat at a desk in the squad room, his hands wrapped around his head as he had found himself at the end of his rope. He looked up from his hands when he heard someone was standing in front of him._

_"Sir .... why don't you go home .. there's nothing more you can do here tonight." the officer suggested._

_"Tell me you found something, Martinez .. please." Ric asked, ignoring the officers suggestion as another officer walked up._

_Martinez handed Ric a stack of paperwork .... "What's this?" Ric asked and took the stack from the officer._

_"I think you're in luck, Mr. Lansing. I think I got your paper trail you've been looking for."_


	23. Chapter 23

_Ric took the files from the officer and thanked him. He laid the folder down and opened it up. There was a stack of papers in front of him, bank statements and copies of transactions that had been occurring for the past 6 months. Ric looked over the statements and followed the money from one account to the next, it finally leading him to the original source. He looked up and noticed a few officers gathered around the desk next to him._

_"Bring in me Lorenzo Alcazar!" Ric ordered the officers._

_"On what charge, sir?"_

_"Three counts of attempted murder!" he bellowed and Mac came hurrying over to him._

_"You got proof?" Mac asked before allowing the officers to go anywhere._

_"Proof enough?" Ric handed the bank statements to Mac._

_Mac looked over the paperwork in the file and nodded to the officers. "Go pick him up."_

_"You got this evidence, where?" Mac asked as he handed the file back to Ric._

_"Martinez. He said he found what I was looking for and handed me the paperwork."_

_"Martinez!" Mac called for the officer._

_"Yes, sir." he came rushing over to Mac._

_"This paperwork, where did you get it?"_

_"It came special delivery, sir."_

_"Messenger service?" Ric asked wondering who would of went through the trouble of gathering it and sending it to the police station._

_"Yes, sir. About 20 minutes ago."_

_"Get it to forensics right away and lift the prints. Hopefully the person who sent it, left some behind." Mac ordered._

_"Do you think the statements are legit?" Ric questioned._

_"One way to find out." Mac replied and handed Ric the phone receiver._

_Ric dialed and reached the bank that the funds were drawn on. He checked the transactions with the teller and she confirmed they were factual and had been signed for by the account owner. Ric hung up the receiver and handed the file back to Mac. _

_"They're legit. But is it enough?"_

_"We'll soon find out." Mac replied._

_Cory and Wade stood watch outside the warehouse, while Greg secured the inside. He lurked about the shadows of the warehouse and checking on the office door more then twice in the last 10 minutes, Greg was nervous and worried that his counterparts outside were on to him and his discreet dealings with Lorenzo. The uncrated product sat in stacks as Greg stared at the millions of dollars that sat in front of him. It wouldn't take but a minute for him to take his own cut and no one be the wiser._

_He walked over to the tallest stack and snatched a bag from the top. Greg quietly and cautiously made his way to the back of the warehouse and out into the alley where his car sat parked in the shadows. He propped the warehouse door and then scurried to his car, popping the trunk so it was open when he got there. He pulled back the carpet in the trunk and stashed the bag he had hidden underneath his jacket, and pulled the carpet back into place. He closed the trunk quietly, and rushed back inside, looking over his shoulder being sure no one was watching him. He stepped inside the warehouse and closed the door behind him. He leaned up against the inside of the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he did so, he was taken by surprise by a blaring light in his face._

_"Taking a break, Greg?" Cory asked as he held his flashlight on his friend._

_"Yeah, I just needed some air." Greg replied as he tried to hide that his heartbeat was racing and he was out of breath._

_Cory was suspicious of Greg and his excuse, but needed more then just theories and suspicions. Cory turned off the flashlight and turned his back on Greg as he started to walk away. Greg knew just by Cory's behavior that Cory was suspicious about him and there was no way, Greg was going to wait to be caught and face his boss for betrayal. Greg drew his 9mm from his waistband and swung the butt hard against the back of Cory's neck. Cory fell to the ground like a bag of bricks, face down in the dark, Greg turned and ran out the back door of the warehouse. He jumped in his car and took off down the alley, leaving Cory, not knowing if he was dead or alive._

_Wade had heard the squealing of car tires and saw the bright red tail lights speed down the street and he jumped into action. With his weapon drawn, he entered the warehouse, hoping to find Cory lurking about in the shadows. Instead he found Cory face down on the ground, just beginning to stir._

_"Cory .. what happened?!"_

_"Greg happened! He blindsided me with the butt of his gun." Cory replied as he rubbed the back of his neck._

_"Why would he do that?"_

_"I told you before, that something strange was going on .... this just proves it!"_

_"Zander is not going to be happy about this, Cory."_

_"Yeah no kidding and I want to be the one size up Greg for cement shoes!" Cory infuriated at Greg for hitting him in the back of the neck._

_Greg took off down the street as fast as his car would take him. The product nicely tucked away in the trunk of his car, he headed to the one person he knew of that would be interested in taking down Zander and taking the territory right out from underneath him._


	24. Chapter 24

_Wade helped Cory to his feet, Cory still massaging his neck. "We gotta call Zander."_

_"I hate to do that, but I think in case we have to." Cory replied and Wade pulled his cell phone from his pocket._

_"You do it." Wade said as he handed the phone to Cory._

_"Why me?" Cory replied as he looked down at the phone._

_"Zander like's you best." Wade chuckled._

_Cory rolled his eyes and took the phone from Wade. He dialed Zander's room at the hospital and waited for him to pick up._

_"Hello ..." the voice answered on the other end, Cory recognizing it was Zander who answered._

_"Boss ... we have problems."_

_"What kind of problems?"_

_"Greg ... he knocked me out and took off with a bag of the shipment."_

_"Are you alright?" Zander asked worried about his guard._

_"Yeah, I'll have a headache till next week, but I'll be fine. What do you want to do about Greg?"_

_"Find him, and bring him to me. I'll deal with Greg!"_

_Zander hung up the phone and Cory and Wade rushed out the door on the hunt for their former friend, Greg._

_Greg's car rounded the corner of 3rd and State Streets, Greg parked the car out in front of a large apartment building and sat collecting his thoughts. He had a plan, the first part of his plan already put into motion, the second part, almost complete, the third part was soon to come. He sat for a few minutes and looked up and down the street, being cautious that no one followed him. He climbed out of the car and went inside the apartment building._

_He made his way up to the penthouse floor and stepped off the elevator. Penthouse # 3 was his destination and he was a few short steps from it. He walked to the apartment door and knocked. He still shaking, his heart racing a mile a minute, his palms sweating, he couldn't help but be a bit scared. He just betrayed one of the most powerful bosses on the east coast, his life was soon to be cut short if he didn't strike a deal with the person he came to see._

_He waited in the hallway and heard footsteps coming towards the door. The door opened, and Greg was invited inside._

_"Hello .... Gregory?" Jason said as he closed the door and Greg walked inside._

_"Yeah, it's Greg .. Look, I have something you may want." _

_"Oh and you came to see if I'd be at all interested in what you got?"_

_"Yeah that's about the jist of it." Greg's nervousness became obvious._

_"Why so nervous, Greg? It couldn't be that you are my competition's employee, and by you being here in my penthouse would constitute betrayal, now would it?" the man leaned in to Greg when he spoke and it rattled Greg._

_"So do you want to deal or not?" _

_"What do you have that I would want, Greg?"_

_"I don't know, perhaps Zander's shipment and his territory to top it off?"_

_The man raised his eyebrow at Greg's offer. But he had to wonder how Greg, a bodyguard, would be able to come up with such an offer._

_"Care to tell me how you came of this offer?"_

_"Let's just say it fell into my lap." Greg replied and Jason poured himself a drink._

_"Okay, then let's just say that I'm interested."_

_Greg jumped about out of his skin as the door to the apartment opened and a bodyguard walked in. "Easy there, Greg ... " the man replied when he noticed Greg jumped at the opening of the door. "A bit paranoid aren't we?"_

_"Do you blame me? I have betrayed my boss, and the organization, and to top it off, I'm standing in the living room of the enemy!"_

_"Look, I tell you what .... I do have a place for you here Greg, that is if you want to switch sides?"_

_"What I want is a one way ticket out of town! I'm living on borrowed time! I'm sure by now Zander knows what happened and he's gonna be looking for me!"_

_"Alright, alright. Here have a drink, it'll calm ya down." Jason offered Greg a drink and Greg took it._

_"You have some stuff to show me or am I taking your word for it?" Jason asked wanting to see what Greg had to offer._

_"I have some stuff, it's down in the car ... in the trunk."_

_"Go get it ...." Jason ordered his guard. The guard nodded and left the penthouse._

_Greg knew what he was about to do would get him killed, but he had already loaded the gun by stealing the product and betraying Zander, what more could he lose? He mulled around Jason's apartment till the bodyguard came back, the bag of product in his hand._

_Jason realized something else was going on with Greg besides the stolen bag of product he had in his car._

"You were the one who took a shot at Zander, weren't you?" Jason asked and Greg's eyes widened and didn't answer him.

"On someone else's orders ..." Jason added as he contemplated who those ordres came from.

Just as Jason was about to put all the pieces together, his body guard came back with the bag of product in his hands.

_"You say this is part of Zander's shipment?" Jason asked as he looked over the white powder._

_"Yeah we just got a shipment in."_

_"How much of it?"_

_"A couple million dollars worth, I'd suspect."_

_Jason turned towards Greg and raised his eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Really ... "_

_"Yeah... really. You interested or do I take it elsewhere?" Greg replied hoping that he had made the right choice by coming to Jason._

_"Oh I'm interested, but I want to see the whole shipment."_

_Greg disappointed by Jason's request. "You get me out of town tonight, and I will tell you where you can find the rest of that shipment."_

_Jason picked up the phone and called the airport. "Have the plane ready in 30 minutes." Jason hung up the phone and turned his attention back on Greg._

_"Okay ... now tell me where the rest of it is." Jason demanded._

_"Pier 53 ... warehouse 3A ...." Greg replied and then finished the drink Jason had given him earlier._

_Cory and Wade drove around the city looking for Greg's car, finally finding it on State Street. The parked their car in the shadows, and just watched for any movement._

_"You know who lives here, right?" Cory asked of Wade._

_"Morgan, lives here, don't he?"_

_"Yep, the penthouse. I didn't think Greg was this stupid." Cory replied._

_"Apparently he is."_

_"He has to know that Zander will be looking for him?" Cory watching the front door of the building for Greg to emerge._

_"Yeah I'm sure Greg knows that much ... but why Morgan? I mean, why would Morgan be at all interested in what Greg has to offer?"_

_"Well, I'm sure Greg is running scared. He's obviously not thinking clearly."_

_"Yeah or he has a plan."_

_"We gotta get our hands on him before he leaves town, and I'm sure that has already crossed his mind."_

_"Yeah with Morgan's help."_

_"I'm sure ....." _

_Greg emerged from the building and walked towards his car, aware of his surroundings, he climbed in and started it up._

_"I wonder where he's going now ..." Cory spoke up._

_"I don't know, but we better follow him. Zander will not be happy if we don't nab Greg before he leaves town."_

_Cory and Wade followed Greg back to his apartment. Being discreet, Cory parked the car out of Greg's sight. They climbed out of the car and headed off Greg before he enter his building._

_Cory and Wade approached, Greg frozen in his tracks when he saw them coming towards him._

_"Zander would like to see you ....."_


	25. Chapter 25

_Cory held Greg by the scruff of his neck and pushed him hard into Zander's hospital room, Greg stumbling in and coming face to face with the boss he betrayed._

_Zander propped up with pillows, sitting straight in the hospital bed, he glared at the man who was disloyal to him and to the organization._

_"Thank you Cory .. Wade."_

_"Would you like us to stay, sir?"_

_"No that's not necessary" Zander replied._

_Greg stood cowering at the foot of the hospital bed, awaiting the lashing he was about to get from Zander. Greg wasn't waiting for Zander, he wanted to explain before his boss laid into him._

_"Can I explain?" Greg began hoping Zander would be at least willing to hear his side._

_"No I don't want to hear your explanations, Greg!" Zander shouted, wincing as the anger inside caused him some pain._

_"But ...."_

_"No, there is no explanation you could give me that will make this any less then what it is, Greg! You know damn well that what you did was disloyal to me, to the men you worked with and to the organization! And you tried to kill my family, my children, my wife!!" Zander's anger was beyond control as he lifted himself up and pointed his finger at Greg._

_"Woah wait a minute, I didn't ..."_

_"Don't give me that, Greg! _

_"Sir, I swear I didn't do anything to hurt the family, I swear!"_

_"Why should I believe you, Greg?!"_

_"Look that attempt at the cabin was all Lorenzo Alcazar, I swear!"_

_"You obviously told him where we were, Greg! You're just as much to blame for that as Alcazar! You could of killed my wife and my child! I can't let that go unpunished Greg!"_

_"I'm sorry sir."_

_"No you're not!" Zander barked and then motioned for his guards to come into the room. Cory and Wade did as they were instructed._

_"Need something sir?" Cory asked when he and Wade re-entered the room._

_"Yeah I do ... I need to you get Greg out of my sight!"_

_"Yes, sir ..... Let's go Greg!" Cory grabbed Greg once again by the scruff of his neck and pushed him back out into the hallway._

_Wade about to walk out the door, but Zander spoke up. "Wade .. make it look like an accident this time, okay?"_

_"Sure boss." Wade replied knowing exactly what Zander wanted._

_Cory returned to Zander's room after leaving Greg in the hands of Wade out in the hallway. Cory knocked lightly on the doorframe and waited for Zander to invite him inside._

_"I just wanted to tell you a few more things before we go, sir. Things I think you should know."_

_"Go on ...."_

_"Sir, we found Greg at Morgan's place. I think he struck a deal with Morgan to get him out of town."_

_"In exchange for what, Greg doesn't have anything worth while, Cory?"_

_"He may not now, but maybe Greg's playing both sides of the fence. Look, Greg worked for you, he had access to every shipment that came into your warehouse. He had access to you and Emily, he had access to alot of information."_

_"So what your saying is that Greg struck a deal with Morgan to take me out?"_

_"Makes sense doesn't it?"_

_"Yeah but Morgan wouldn't jeopardize Emily's welfare or her well being. I don't think it was Morgan who hit the cabin a few months ago, no, I think it was Lorenzo who hired Greg to do that job. And I also think that Greg screwed it up and Lorenzo gave him one more shot at me and Greg screwed that up too. No I think Morgan is Greg's latest accomplice. I think Greg and Lorenzo took the shots at me and the family. It's not Morgan's style. Don't get me wrong, Morgan will take you out if given the chance but he's more of a nuisance then a killer. He'll take shipments, burn down warehouses, plant car bombs, but shoot someone point blank, especially someone this close to his sister? I don't think so. No, what happened to Emily and I came directly for Lorenzo. Now whether or not Lorenzo hired Greg or Greg propositioned Lorenzo, it doesn't matter, their both to blame!"_

_"Okay .... I just wanted to be sure you knew that Greg was found at Morgan's. Just be careful, sir. Morgan's unpredictable."_

_"I'll be fine. You just go take care of Greg." Zander replied. He had a lot on his mind and had a lot to think about, what to do next was at the top of his list._

_"Frank!" Zander called from his hospital bed to his guard standing just outside the doorway._

_"Yes sir."_

_"I want you and Marcus to get over to the warehouse right away, there will be trouble there tonight and I don't want anything to happen to the shipment!"_

_"Yes sir ... what about guarding your room and your wife, sir?"_

_"I'll call for replacements, just secure the warehouse."_

_Frank left Zander's room and went to get Marcus. The two men rushed from the hospital to the warehouse to replace Cory and Wade._

_Jason and two of his men, emerged from the shadows of the alley and broke into Zander's warehouse, to find the stacks of product that Greg spoke about. Jason's men counted each bag and gave Jason the number of bags that were left waiting for the picking._

_"I want this moved tonight! Zander in the hospital and by now he's occupied with Greg, I don't think we'll be disturbed." Jason said as he looked over the number of stacks that sat on palates before him._

_The two burly men with Jason, picked up and carried what they could in their arms, and then came back for more, as Jason stood and watched the product go passed him. He grinned a devilish grin when he realized what kind of deal he had just made with Greg. The shipment that he was taking from Zander would put Zander back quite a few million dollars. Certainly enough to make Zander think twice about being in the business he was in, and even more in a position to give up the territory that Jason had been wanting for a long time now._

_As Frank and Marcus arrived at the warehouse, they noticed the two limos parked out in the alley. "Morgan." Marcus parked the car near the warehouse, he and Frank would walk the rest of the way, he hoping to find Morgan in act of taking the product, giving good reason to kill the bastard. Marcus was not one for talking, he was one for action, and then asking the questions later. _

_As the two men approached the warehouse, they were unaware that Morgan and his men had already left the warehouse by the back door and had escaped with the most of the shipment. Marcus and Frank taken by surprise when the warehouse just exploded in a ball of fire, knocking them both to the ground, unconscious._

_The flames of the explosion lit up the night sky in a pretty red amber, and they could be seen across town as they shot up into the air. Marcus coming to first, scrambled away from the flames, dragging Frank with him to safety. He reviving Frank, the two of them sat a distance from the burning building just watching as another one of Zander's warehouses went up in smoke._

_Marcus coughed feeling the smoke filling inside his lungs. "If Morgan wants a war, he's got one .. Zander is going to kill that son of a bitch!"_


	26. Chapter 26

_"I think you need to see this ...." Ric said as he sprinted into Zander's room and turned on the TV set that hung in the corner of the room._

_"Wait, weren't you ..."_

_"Yeah, yeah in a minute, you have to see this ..." Ric replied as he turned the channel to the news coverage about the explosion down on the docks._

_"The mob wars got a shot in the arm tonight as a warehouse, down here on Pier 53, was destroyed by an explosion earlier tonight. The building owned my local business man, Zander Smith, is now nothing more then a heap of ashes. Eye witnesses say that the flames from this fire, shot over a hundred feet in the air and could be seen across town. Zander Smith, himself, a victim of an alleged mob hit a last week, is re-cooperating at General Hospital. There is no word as to what ignited this explosion, and we will be continuing our coverage of this fire. As details become available, we will pass them along to you."_

_Zander pushed the blankets from him and tried to get out of the hospital bed he was lying in._

_"Hey woah you're not going anywhere." Ric rushed to his brother's bedside to keep him in bed._

_"You don't expect me lie here and take this, do you?" Zander replied as Ric pulled the blankets back up over Zander._

_"You'd never get 5 feet from this bed in your condition, Zander!"_

_"Don't you dare try and stop me, Ric! I have two men down there!"_

_Ric sighed heavily, he knew Zander was bound and determined to fight his own battles, but he was in no shape to do any of it. Ric backed off and watched as Zander tried to stand up, he wincing in pain as he did so._

_"Zander please! You are in no condition to go fighting this battle by yourself!"_

_"What do you suggest I do, Ric?! They blew up my warehouse!"_

_"Yeah and your damn lucky it wasn't you!"_

_Zander was exhausted just trying to get out of bed, he unsteadily sat back down. Zander realized he wasn't going anywhere. The pain was too unbearable. He laid back down in the hospital bed and Ric helped him with the blankets._

_"Now, are you going to listen to me?"_

_"No, I'm not."_

_"You are so stubborn, you know that?"_

_Zander smirked at Ric's comment._

_"I can't very well run my business from this hospital bed, Ric. The longer I stay here, the more vulnerable I become."_

_"Well you can't very well go anywhere, at least not for a while. You'll have to up security."_

_"I thought you had Alcazar in custody? What the hell happened?"_

_"We do .... he's in lock up."_

_"Then who the hell blew up my warehouse, Ric?!"_

_Ric shrugged, not knowing the answer that Zander was looking for._

_"Morgan. That son of a bitch blew up my warehouse!" _

_"You don't really know for sure it was Jason."_

_"Look, if it wasn't Lorenzo, then who else could it of been?!"_

_Ric and Zander contemplated who would of destroyed the warehouse and its contents before being interrupted by two of Zander's men._

_"Sir .... it was Morgan." Marcus exclaimed as he and Frank unsteadily walked into Zander's room. Ric assisting Marcus to the chair, and he sat down, while Frank balanced himself against the doorframe._

_Marcus and Frank both covered in black soot from the explosion, both had noticeable cuts and abrasions. "Are the two of you alright?" Zander asked as he propped himself up to get a better look at his men._

_"Yeah we're fine. We scrambled out of there before the emergency crews showed up."_

_"How do you know it was Morgan who blew up the warehouse?"_

_"We saw his limos parked out back in the alley. They were gone before we got closer and then ..... up in smoke it all went."_

_"Do you believe it now, Ric?! It was Morgan and I will not just sit here and do nothing!"_

_"Zander let the police handle this, please."_

_"You just didn't ask me to let the police handle it, did you?"_

_"Zander they can prosecute Morgan, he'll do 10 to 15 for this!"_

_"You know damn well he will not even get past the grand jury, Ric! No .. I have to handle this myself, Ric .... Morgan just made it a little more personal!"_

_"Speaking of personal .... what is Emily going to say about you taking out her brother?" Ric asked, none of them noticing that Emily sat just outside the doorway in a wheelchair and she was listening to the banter._

_"You're going to do what?!" Emily spoke up from just outside the door. Frank let her pass and she wheeled herself into her husband's room._

_"I think this is our cue, Frank ...." Marcus said as he saw the glare Emily gave him to leave. Marcus and Frank left Zander's room and waited out in the hallway for further instructions._

_"I will let you handle this one, Zander." Ric said as he backed out of the room slowly, leaving Zander alone in the room with a scowling Emily._

_"What are you thinking?!" Emily demanded from Zander._

_"I'm thinking of keeping my family safe and with Morgan still around, you and the children are not safe!"_

_"Let me talk with him, Zander .. Jason listens to me. I can get him to back off."_

_"He almost killed Marcus and Frank .. not too mention he blew up my building! I am not letting you get near him, Em!"_

_"He's my brother! He wouldn't hurt me!"_

_"He wouldn't? For all we know he hired the guy who put you in the hospital in the first place!"_

_"Zander, you know .."_

_"No, Em .. I don't .. I don't anything for sure. And I'm not taking any more risks with my family! You are not going to see Jason and that's final!"_

_"You are impossible you know that?!"_

_"Yeah I do, but when it comes to you and the children, I have to be! I cannot let you put your life at risk any more, we almost lost the baby once because of this business, I am not going to put you or the baby at risk again!"_

_"I have body guards at my door 24 hours a day, nothing is going to happen to me or this baby."_

_"And nothing is going to happen if you stay away from Jason!"_

_Emily sank in the wheelchair, tired of arguing with her husband who obviously was not going to give in to her talking to Jason. She laced her fingers together across her 7 month belly and looked up at him._

_"Okay ....." she caved to his rules._

_"Okay what?" he replied._

_"Okay I won't ask to see Jason."_

_"Promise."_

_"Yes I promise. I'll let you handle it."_

_"Thank you." Zander smiled._

_Zander reached his hand out to her, she took it in hers and caressed it. "You trust me, don't you?" Zander asked._

_"Of course, I do."_

_"And you know I love you, and I will do anything to protect you. Even if it means taking out Jason."_

_Emily looked up at Zander. She knew he would protect her and the children at all costs, she had no doubts. He had always been her protector and she could depend on him to keep her safe. She had always known this day would come, the day when she had to watch her husband order the hit on her brother, Jason .... but it didn't make it any easier._


	27. Chapter 27

_It had been a few days since the warehouse explosion, Zander's men had their orders to take out Jason, Zander had had enough. Stolen shipments, buildings now just piles of ashes, lives almost taken, his family and his men. He had no other choice then to order the contract on Jason. The war had escalated to this point, it was either kill or be killed._

_Zander lay in his hospital bed, still. Doctors say it could be another week till he'd be ready to go home, but his plans couldn't wait that long. Another week could mean another stolen shipment or another week for Jason's men to go after his wife and children. He had to do something now, not next week._

_Zander sat up in bed and swung his legs over the side, allowing his barefeet to hit the cold floor of his hospital room. He winced when he felt a twinge, but he was determined. He placed his weight on his unstable legs and tried to stand up. He steadied himself with his hand on the stand next to the bed and took a step and then another. The feeling in his legs was back to normal, normal as can be expected after the injuries he had sustained because of one of Jason's hired guns._

_He had gotten a few more steps towards the free standing closet where he had seen a few of belongings were kept, and reached for the handle to pull it open. Inside hung clothes on hangers and he reached for them, leaning on the closet door for support he grabbed the clothes and tucked them under his arm to carry back to the bed. It was painful and he groaned as he got himself dressed. There was no more time to waste, he was becoming more and more vulnerable as the days went by. His legs getting better has he walked to the door and opened it up, he saw his man standing in the hallway standing guard._

_"Sir ... you're not .."_

_"I know I'm not. I'm going upstairs to see my wife." Zander replied as he held his hand on his side to cover his bandages._

_The guard followed Zander to the elevator, and then up to Emily's room. She was sleeping peacefully as Zander watched her from the doorway. Elenore sat in the corner chair resting her eyes as well and Zander walked quietly into the room, his guard there to help him as he took the steps towards his wife. He took a seat next to her on the edge of the bed and reached up and caressed her face with his hand. She feeling his touch, leaned into it and her eyes fluttered open to see him sitting there with her._

_She sat up and quickly took him into a hug, forgetting about his injuries. Zander winced at the twinges he was feeling, while his wife embraced him._

_"I thought you weren't being released till next week?" she asked as she noticed he was dressed and ready to do business as usual._

_"Yeah well, I'm signing myself out. I have a business to run."_

_"You mean Jason can't wait."_

_"Em .. I am sorry about Jason. But ..."_

_"Yeah I know, but it doesn't make this any easier for me, Zander."_

_He reached up once more and caressed her jaw with his hand. She reached with hers and held his against her face. "You be careful, okay."_

_Zander smiled softly. "I will .... and I'll be back later to see you." He leaned in and kissed her soft lips for perhaps the last time._

_As he pulled back she whispered the words he always loved to hear. "I love you so much."_

_"I love you too, baby."_

_Before leaving her side he leaned down and laid a soft kiss on her belly. "I love you too, baby." he whispered. Emily watched as he and his guard walked out the door, he giving her a cute wave as he walked passed the plexi-glass window._

_"He's in no condition to leave the hospital?" Elenore asked as she stood up from the chair in the corner._

_"He has a business to run, being here in a hospital bed is making him vulnerable. He feels he has to get out there and run his business, as usual." Emily said._

_Emily understood her husband's position and his intentions, but she couldn't just let him go out into the battle zone without trying to stop him somehow. She knew the time was coming that she had to make a decision, her husband or her brother, but she didn't want to choose one or the other, she couldn't, she loved each of them dearly and didn't want to see either of them hurt by the other._

_Elenore stepped one step out into the hallway and watched Zander and his guard disappear out of sight as they turned the corner._

_"You're not worried about him going out there?"_

_"Of course I'm worried, I'm scared to death that he won't be coming back. But I trust him. Look, I learned a long time ago not to get into Zander's business, he doesn't want me to know so I don't ask."_

_"You trust him enough to have a guard at your door at all times?" Elenore said as she made Emily aware that she was unguarded._

_Emily's eyes expressed fear, there was always a body guard outside her door, and now the guard was no longer standing at his post. She feared something was wrong, and so did Zander, he stopped in his tracks and he and his guard made their way back to Emily's room._

_"Emily .. what is it?"_

_"Something's wrong.....there's always a guard out there." Emily replied as she turned back the blankets and got out of bed. _

_Elenore came to help her and just as she did, a shot rang out and Emily felt the whiz of the bullet fly past her and into the pillow. Emily's screams echoed through the halls as the assailant ran off towards the stairs. Zander heard Emily's cries for help and even in his condition, he raced to her room. He found her and his mother on the floor shaken by what had just happened, she was relieved when she looked up and saw him rushing into the room. _

_"Oh my God, Zander!" she cried as she got up off the floor and ran into his waiting arms almost knocking him over from her momentum._

_"Are you alright?" he asked worried and afraid._

_"Yeah I think so." she replied as she latched herself onto him._

_"Mom .. are you okay?" Zander asked as his mother came to him._

_"Yeah, I'm fine. They missed us this time."_

_Zander held onto his wife, consoling her .... "This was a warning to me and to tell me that they can get at my family any time they want to." _


	28. Chapter 28

_Still holding Emily close to him, Zander turned towards the guard that was with him. "Cord was to be out there, find him something must of happened. He would never leave his post!" Zander ordered._

_"He was there one minute and the next he was gone." Elenore replied._

_"Did you see who did this?" Zander asked her._

_"No sorry it all happened so fast. After the shot, he took off. I didn't get a good look at him, I was more worried about Emily then getting a detailed description of the man, Zander."_

_"It's okay, mom."_

_Emily looked up at Zander. "It was Jason wasn't it?"_

_"Yeah baby, I think it was." Zander held her close to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her as her tears moistened his shirt and jacket._

_Hospital staff came running a few minutes later to see what had happened, Monica and Alan followed close behind with Dr. Meadows in tow._

_"Emily! Oh my God, are you alright?" Monica went to her daughter and snatched her from the arms of her husband._

_"I'm okay .... " she replied yet Monica felt her daughter's body shaking from fear._

_"No you're not alright, your shaking." Monica replied as Alan glared at Zander._

_"You said you could protect her, Zander! What the hell happened?!" Alan demanded to know. "And are you going somewhere, you're not released yet?!"_

_"I signed myself out, okay?! I can't very well protect Emily when I'm lying in a hospital bed 3 floors down, now can I?!" Zander snapped back._

_While Alan and Zander exchanged hurtful words towards each other, Dr. Meadows took care of Emily, and the hospital staff changed linens and pillows on the bed. Emily was put back into bed and Dr. Meadows cleared the room, she wanting to give Emily a full exam to make sure everything was alright._

_Zander and Alan continued their heated discussion out in the hallway, as Elenore and Monica tried to separate the two and calm the two of them down._

_"Please this is not the time or place for this, Alan!" Monica said as she tugged at his arm trying to back him off._

_"Our daughter was almost killed ... this IS the time and place for this, Monica!" he barked back._

_"Look, I know who did this and it's being handled." Zander replied just as his guard, Frank approached with the injured guard, Jerry stumbling along. Zander went to them._

_"Here sit him down. What happened?" Zander asked Jerry_

_"I was blindsided, sir. He came out of no where, knocked me out dragged me down the hallway." Jerry replied as he rubbed the back of his head where there was a goose egg sized bump._

_"I found him down the hallway propped up against the wall." Frank replied as Monica came over to take a look at Jerry's injuries._

_"I'll be fine, Dr. Quartermaine. I'll have a bad headache for a while." Jerry replied as Monica checked him over._

_Alan came up to Zander and grabbed at his arm, turning him around. "You said you know who did this .. tell me, who?!" Alan demanded to know who took a shot at his daughter._

_Zander hesitant to tell him it was his own son, Jason. Zander didn't have to as he was interrupted by Ric rushing down the hallway to him._

_"Are you alright? How's Emily?" Ric questioned as he approached the mob of people now standing outside Emily's room._

_"We're fine. Please tell me you still have Alcazar in custody."_

_"Yeah, he's not being very cooperative though and he lawyer'd up. He's not giving us much of anything. Why do you think Lorenzo did this?"_

_"No, I don't. It was Jason, I'm sure of it." Zander replied and Alan's ears overheard his son's name._

_"You think Jason did this?!"_

_Zander turned towards Alan. "Yeah I do. This was a warning to me, that he could get to my family any time he wanted. This wasn't about Emily, this was business."_

_"Business?! Taking shots at his own sister? That's business?!"_

_"To Jason, yeah it is. You don't know him very well, do you?" Zander replied, questioning Alan's knowledge of his own son._

_"This isn't the first time, Dr. Quartermaine." Ric replied._

_Alan and Monica both shocked to hear that Jason was behind the attempts on Emily, they didn't know their son was capable of such violence against his own family._

_"Look, Lorenzo Alcazar has been in lock up since late yesterday, there's no way he could of been behind this. It had to be Jason, there's no one else in town. I would know if there was." Zander replied._

_Dr. Meadows emerged from Emily's room and Zander went to her concerned about his wife. "How is she?" he asked._

_"Emily will be fine, she's just a little shaken up, but she'll be fine." Dr. Meadows replied then hesitated, Zander concerned about her hesitation to tell him something._

_"What is it, Dr. Meadows? It's the baby, isn't it? .... Isn't it?!" Zander now fearing for his child's life and he went to the plexi-glass window and watched Emily resting._

_Dr. Meadows followed him to the window and a worried look came across her face. "Something has to be done, Zander. There is too much strain on this baby, he's not going to be able to take much more of this." she replied and Zander looked at her._

_"He's alright, isn't he? We're not going to lose him are we? We can't lose this baby, Dr. Meadows!"_

_"I'm doing everything I can to keep him stabilized. I'm not going to lie to you Zander .... the baby, at this point is my main concern." she replied and Zander began to panic and fear the worst._

_"Look, I have him on monitors and I'm trying to stabilize him, and once we do that, he should be okay. The next few hours will tell us what we have to do next."_

_"You won't have to take him will you? I mean it's too early, isn't it?"_

_"Well, Emily's 7 months along, the baby is growing nicely but there are risks to having him born early, with any pregnancy. In this situation, Emily's unstable, her blood pressure is up most of the time, and that's not good for either of them. There's entirely too much stress and strain on the baby right now to induce labor, we'll have to wait and see."_

_The family gathered around Zander, his mother comforting him as they listened to Dr. Meadows prognosis. "The best thing right now for Emily is rest, absolutely no stress, and no excitement. I gave her something that will help her sleep, so she should be resting for a while." Dr. Meadows added._

_"Can we sit with her?" Monica asked concerned herself about her daughter and unborn grandchild._

_"Yeah sure, but let's keep the visitors to a minimum." Dr. Meadows replied._

_"Will you sit with her, mom. I'll be right there." Zander asked of his mother as he glanced over to Frank and Jerry, who were still waiting in the lounge area across from Emily's room._

_Elenore agreed and went to Emily's bedside as her son asked her to. Ric followed Zander over to his men, while Monica and Alan stood in the doorway of their daughters room, comforting each other, still worried and afraid for her and the baby._

_Zander stood in the doorway of Emily's room, his fists clenched in an overload of emotions. He realized that someone tried to take it all away from him today, his wife, his child, his business, his entire world. He stormed out of the room, anger filled his eyes, his insides twisted, and he had only one thing on his mind .... it was time for payback!_


	29. Chapter 29

_Zander headed on a path sure to lead to danger for him and he was in no condition to be out taking care of business. Especially Jason Morgan. Frank stepped in front of Zander and stopped him from leaving._

_"You're not going out there by yourself, are you? Zander, you're in no condition to be going after Morgan." Frank gave his boss his own 2 cents._

_"I agree with him, Zander ... let someone else handle this?" Ric stepped forward._

_"Thank you for your concern, but I have to do this now. Morgan's gotten away with this for far too long." Zander replied as he tried to get passed Frank._

_"At least take one of us with you. Two are better then one, when handling Morgan." Cord spoke up._

_"I have to do this alone, but thanks for the offer."_

_Zander shot Frank a look to let him pass, and Frank stepped aside. Zander turned around towards his men. "The two of you stay here and keep watch on Emily. Got that?!"_

_"Sir I still think you should take someone with you!" Cord said, it fell on deaf ears. Zander needed to this alone and he refused help from his men who were left standing in the corridor outside Emily's room._

_"I happen to agree with the two of you. Why don't you guys follow him and I'll watch Emily till he gets back?" Ric offered._

_"We can't do that .... Zander wants us to stay here. He wouldn't like it if we ignored his orders." Frank replied as the three of them stood outside Emily's room._

_"I know, but we can't let him walk into this with Morgan alone .... he's in no shape to fight Morgan by himself. He's going to get himself killed!"_

_Cord and Frank stood for a few minutes contemplating what to do. What Ric said was true, Zander was not capable of taking out Morgan by himself, certainly not now. But there would be hell to pay if Zander knew they disobeyed orders._

_Zander walked out of the front entrance of the hospital and flipped his cell phone open to make a call. "Marcus, pick me up in front of the hospital, I have some business to attend to." In a few minutes Marcus pulled the car up in front of the hospital and Zander climbed in the back seat._

_"Where to boss?" Marcus asked, the tinted divider down between he and Zander._

_"The penthouse."_

_"Right away, sir." Marcus replied and pulled the car out into the street, heading towards the penthouse._

_In a few minutes, Marcus pulled the car up to the curb and parked. He climbed out of the driver's seat and rushed to the other side to open the back door for Zander. "Stay with the car. I'll be down in a few minutes." Zander instructed before walking into the apartment building. Marcus noticed Zander ignoring the pain he was feeling from his injuries, and he just shook his head in disbelief, as Zander walked off. He too, didn't understand Zander's motives for doing what he was obviously going to do. The only reason Zander would want to stop by the penthouse would to pick up his weapon, Zander was going into battle with Morgan, and there wasn't anything anyone could do to stop him._

_The elevator stopped on the penthouse floor and the doors opened up. Zander stepped off the car and walked to his penthouse. Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he slid the keys back into his jacket pocket and went to his desk. He opened up the top drawer and found the black box where he had kept a loaded spare 9mm. He removed the box from the drawer and set it on the desk, staring at it's shape and size, he opened it up. He was unaware that he had company inside the apartment_

_"I figured you would be showing up sooner or later." the voice said from the shadows and Zander grabbed the gun from the box quickly to defend himself from darkened figure._

_"Yeah and I thought you were in lock up." Zander replied as he held his weapon on Lorenzo._

_"Yeah well, I have a good attorney." Lorenzo smirked. _

_"What are you doing here, Lorenzo?"_

_"I heard your warehouse got blown up. I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't me who ordered it."_

_"Yeah I know, Morgan was behind this last one."_

_"This last one? All of them, Zander. Morgan's been blowing up your warehouses all over the waterfront. You thought I was to blame for that?" Lorenzo chuckled._

_Zander starting now to piece a few things together as he stood with his 9mm drawn on Lorenzo. If Lorenzo wasn't blowing up his buildings and it was in fact Morgan, then where did Greg fit in to all this._

_"I take it you have a handle on the Greg situation? He's not to smart is he? He missed taking you out a few times." Lorenzo said knowing that by the look on Zander's face he had no clue that Greg was behind the attempts made against he and Emily._

_"Don't you worry about Greg, he's none of your concern .....anymore." Zander finally piecing it all together and his hands tightened around his weapon._

_"Yeah I guess once I showed him the door, Greg went elsewhere with his ideas."_

_"And what might they have been?" Zander asked keeping his focus on Lorenzo, now knowing he was the one who had hired Greg._

_"To take you down and out. Personally, there's too much heat right now, but Greg knew best." Lorenzo shrugged. Still not arming himself with the weapon he kept in a shoulder holster underneath his suit jacket._

_Zander making it aware to Lorenzo that he finally realized Greg's plans. "Ah I see, so Greg left your employment and went looking elsewhere .... finding Morgan to pick up where you had left off."_

_"Yeah something like that. Greg was more of a liability to me then an asset." Lorenzo devilishly smiled. "I guess Greg figured Morgan because he's been the one taking the shipments all this time ....."_

_"And you just make attempts to take me out, along with my wife!" Zander replied finishing Lorenzo's thought. "Greg probably double crossed you, I mean someone had to send those financial records to the DA's office."_

_Zander's cell phone ring could be heard coming from his jacket pocket and he reached in slowly to answer it, his attention never leaving Lorenzo._

_"Yeah ...." Zander replied._

_"Just wanted to let you know, boss, that Morgan's on his way up. He slipped passed me somehow."_

_"That's alright Marcus .... I'll ready for him when he gets here."_

_Zander flipped closed his cell phone and stuffed back in his jacket pocket. "We have company coming."_

_Lorenzo raised his eye brow, implying he wanted to know who would be attending this little impromptu meeting._

_"Morgan's on his way up, he should be here ...." Rapping on the penthouse door interrupted Zander. Zander turned his weapon on the door, and Lorenzo then drew his from inside his jacket._

_Zander opened the door slowly, Lorenzo was revealed to Morgan as the door opened farther and farther. "Come on in Morgan .... join the party." Zander said as he stepped out from behind the door, his 9mm pointed at Jason._

_A storm in the distance made itself known as the thunder rolled across the sky as Jason stepped inside the apartment and Zander closed the door. The three of them now realizing the end of their war was near, some one was going to die tonight. As the rain storm was brewing outside, there was a storm of different sorts brewing inside that apartment._


	30. Chapter 30

_The rain began to pound hard against the windows of the penthouse, dark clouds hovered over the city of Port Charles, and three enemies came face to face, ready to take each other out at any given moment. Their guns drawn, they circled each other like vultures ready to swoop in for the kill. Zander out numbered at this point, Lorenzo and Morgan had their sights set on killing him. Port Charles wasn't big enough for the three of them, it had come to head on a stormy night, just like it had began all those months ago. The battle raged on, never letting up for them to breathe. Always watching their own backs, being afraid they could be taken out at any given time. All of them vulnerable, each of them needing the other's territory to reign supreme. It was do or die time, and none of the three were giving up without a fight._

_The sky lit up as a lightening strike hit across town, and as it hit the ground, the penthouse went black. Guns still drawn, it was any one's guess who they were aiming at now. The three of them stood frozen, hands tightly wrapped around the butt of their guns, fingers ready to pull the trigger. Lightening lit up the penthouse as a shots were fired, the three of them took cover._

_Zander hidden in the shadows and he noticed the storm raged outside the penthouse window, and lightening he saw in the distance. The light it gave off was just enough to see shadows inside the living room of the apartment. Lorenzo peeked his head up from behind the couch, he winced with pain from the gun shot wound to his shoulder._

_Morgan fired a second shot from across the room, hoping to hit the dark shadow he saw, missing the shadow he hit the expensive vase that sat on the wooden cabinet. It shattered in a few million pieces on the floor. _

_"Damn" Morgan called out when he heard the vase breaking._

_"You are really a bad shot" Lorenzo commented, still taking cover behind the couch. His shoulder bleeding heavily._

_"Well, I'm sorry my aim is bad, but it's a little hard to see some one your shooting at in the dark" Morgan replied sarcastically._

_Zander peered out from behind the door of the kitchen and took aim on Jason._

_A shot was fired from Zander's direction, the force of the hit, impacted Jason hard enough to knock him down on his backside. His cursing could be heard again in the darkness._

_"Dammit" he shouted as he pressed his hand against his bleeding shoulder. "Nice shot there, Zander."_

_"Hey you're lucky I wasn't aiming for you Morgan" Zander called back._

_"Hey ..." a familiar voice from behind could be heard in the darkness._

_Zander was startled by Marcus who had come up the back steps and into the kitchen. _

_"Good shot ..." Marcus praised as took his position beside his boss._

_"What are you doing here, I thought I told you stay with the car." Zander scolded._

_"I know, but with Morgan and Lorenzo here, I thought you might need some help."_

_"How did you know Lorenzo was here" Zander questioned._

_"I saw his limo parked about a half a block from the building. Besides, his driver is standing out front waiting for him."_

_Zander couldn't help but laugh under his breath. "Well, thank you for having my back. If we make it out alive, there's a bonus waiting for you." Zander grinned._

_"I'm gonna hold you to that, boss." Marcus replied._

_With Lorenzo and Morgan both shot in their shoulders, the firing had ceased for a few moments. Lorenzo began to stir as he propped himself up against the back of the couch. _

_"Morgan! You dead yet" Lorenzo chuckled._

_"No ... and apparently you aren't either"_

_"There's two of us, we can take Zander down and split the territory" Lorenzo trying to make a deal with Morgan._

_"No deals, Lorenzo. It's all or nothing for me" Morgan replied from across the room._

_The power still out, once in a while the lightening dimly lit up the room. Marcus and Zander were coming up with a plan of their own. Zander was grateful to have Marcus with him, he hadn't expected Lorenzo in this fight, so he was glad for the back up. Marcus peered out from behind the cabinet, where he had been taking cover and saw a dark shadow move across the floor. It was either Lorenzo or Morgan, Marcus didn't care which, and he fired at the moving target. A loud thud could be heard as the body hit the floor._

_"One down, one to go." Marcus replied. "We just might get out of this alive." he added._

_Gunfire returned from across the room, Marcus ducking behind the cabinet just as the bullet whizzed on by him. The coffee pot shattering from the bullet's impact._

_"Morgan ... show yourself, dammit" Zander called out from behind the cabinet._

_"So you can kill me"_

_"That's the general idea ... yeah! You tried to kill more more then once, you crazy son of a bitch"_

_"Lorenzo was the one who tried to kill you, Zander"_

_"I guess the last attempt on Emily was Lorenzo too, huh! You could of killed her and your nephew"_

_"Zander, what are you talking about! I'd never go after Emily"_

_"You did take a shot at Emily at the hospital earlier"_

_"For the last time ... No! The order didn't come from me, Zander"_

_Zander now confused as to who would of ordered a hit on his wife, if it wasn't Jason or Lorenzo. Marcus equally drawing a blank._

_"You don't think Greg did, do you" Marcus asked._

_"Greg? I thought you guys took care of Greg"_

_"We did ... but he may have had time to hire someone to do it. He knowing he didn't have long for this world."_

_"Yeah but that's just it, why would he, if he knew he wouldn't be around to enjoy the comforts of what it would get him"_

_"No else in town is there"_

_"Not that I know of." Zander answered before calling out to Morgan once again._

_"Morgan"_

_"Still here and still bleeding" Jason replied._

_"Is Lorenzo dead"_

_"I don't know, why don't you come out here and find out" Jason suggested._

_The power in the penthouse suddenly came back on and Jason peered up from the corner he was hidden. He was holding his shoulder with his hand to add pressure to his wound, as he got up and went to the couch. His gun still tightly held in his hand, as he sat down on the couch. Marcus looked up from behind the cabinet and saw Jason sitting on the couch. He nudged Zander and Zander took a look._

_"Giving up, Morgan"_

_"Not till you're dead! What the hell did you shoot me with, a damn cannon" he replied as he checked out his wound._

_Marcus peered out from behind the kitchen cabinet, cautiously and noticed Jason sitting on the couch. He slid back down quickly to get out of sight as an other shot was fired in their direction. Zander heard the front door open and another shot fired, breaking the glassware that sat on the bar._

_"Put it down Morgan" Ric said as he stepped into the apartment, holding a gun on Jason._

_Jason put the gun down on the table in front of him as Zander and Marcus emerged from the kitchen, their guns still drawn on Jason._

_"What the hell happened here" Ric said as he walked towards Jason on the couch._

_"Just a little misunderstanding." Zander replied as he got up from the floor after checking Lorenzo, who laid lifeless behind the door._

_Jason got up from the couch and went to Zander. "You could of killed me, why didn't you" _

_"You can thank Emily for that. She'd never forgive me if I killed you, Jason."_

_Police officers were standing out in the hallway, and were allowed in to arrest Jason._

_"Take him down town, but after he's looked at for that wound in his shoulder." Ric replied._

_"So what about Lorenzo" Ric added as he saw Lorenzo lying on the floor._

_Zander knelt down next to Lorenzo and rolled Lorenzo towards him._

_"Payback's a bitch, Lorenzo."_

_Out of no where, a finally shot was heard ... Zander fell back against the couch ... _

_Jason grinned from the doorway holding a police revolver in his hand. "Yeah .. but I'm last one standing."_


	31. Chapter 31

_"Get him the hell out of here, before he shoots someone else" Ric ordered at the officers as he rushed to check on Zander._

_Zander laying back against the couch, his shirt blood stained from the gun shot wound. Marcus called an ambulance from his cell phone he had kept in his pocket._

_Zander coming around saw Ric kneeling next to him, tending to the pain he felt in his shoulder. "You're damn lucky, you know that" Ric said as he helped Zander remove his shirt. "It looks like it went clean through."_

_"I knew I should of shot Morgan when I had the chance." Zander grimaced as Ric poked at the wound to make sure the bullet had gone straight through._

_"Yeah well, now Emily can be furious with her brother and not you."_

_"The ambulance is on it's way." Marcus said as he came running over to Zander's side. "How bad is it" he added as he saw the wound bleeding quite a bit._

_"Here ..." Ric handed Marcus the shirt that Zander had just removed. "Keep pressure on the wound, slow down the bleeding." he added and then went out into the hallway to make sure Jason had been removed from the building._

_"Well, we made it out of this alive, boss."_

_"Yeah ... barely." Zander replied jokingly._

_"Well, you did get the man who attempted to kill you and Emily." Marcus replied as he glanced over towards Lorenzo who still lay lifeless on the floor by the doorway._

_"Yeah, but we still got Morgan now to deal with. I can't believe the crazy son of bitch shot me"_

_"Just be glad he's got bad aim." Marcus joked making Zander laugh._

_"Don't make me laugh, Marcus. Between the shoulder and my ribs, I'm in worse shape then when I started."_

_"It could be worse, sir. You could be dead."_

_"Good point." ... Zander replied and tried to get up off the floor. "Help me up, Marcus." he groaned as Marcus helped him to his feet._

_"Are you sure you should be walking around, sir"_

_"Yeah, I'm fine .. it went clean through. It's just a little blood."_

_Marcus tended to Zander's shoulder as Ric reappeared in the doorway. "Jason's on his way to the hospital to have his shoulder looked at, next stop is the a jail cell."_

_"Hey, I didn't know you were handy with a gun, Ric" Marcus said as he sat Zander down on the chair._

_"Yeah well, not good enough I guess ..." Ric replied as he looked at Zander and his wound he got from Jason._

_"This? This is nothing compared to what has happened to me the last few weeks."_

_"Well, Emily is going to be glad to hear you're alive."_

_"Yeah I'm sure she will be."_

_The paramedics arrived shortly after Marcus called and they tended to Zander's wounds while Lorenzo was removed from the penthouse._

_"Not too bad ... easily patched up." the medic said as he applied pressure to Zander's shoulder. "You'll need stitches though and you should see a doctor at General Hospital." he added._

_"Just patch it for now, Marcus can take me to GH."_

_"Look, the two of you go to the hospital, see your wife, and get your arm tended to. I've got a case to finish and paperwork to start on with Jason." Ric said as he headed towards the door._

_"Thanks for the help, Ric." Zander replied as the paramedics packed up the duffle bag they had brought in with them. _

_"Okay, be sure to get this looked at and soon. You're going to need medication and stitches."_

_"Thanks ..." Marcus replied as he helped Zander up from his seat._

_Marcus assisted Zander down to the car and drove him to the hospital. Zander worried about his wife, he went to see her first before having his shoulder tended to. The paramedics had bandaged it the best they could with what they had with them, and had put his arm in a sling for him, so he could keep it elevated, it would help keep the bleeding to a minimum._

_Marcus pushed open the door to Emily's hospital room and she was waiting there in anticipation for her husband. She sat up against the pillows when he walked into the room, his shoulder noticeably bleeding through the white gauze bandage._

_"Are you okay, what happened to you" she said as he went to her side._

_"I'm fine ... I'm just lucky your brother has a bad aim."_

_"Jason did this to you? Oh my God" she replied then stopped fussing and looked at him seriously. "Is he in one piece"_

_"Yeah Jason's fine, he got shot in the shoulder... but I didn't do it." Zander covered his butt with his wife and looked over his shoulder at Marcus._

_"You did" she looked at Marcus._

_"Yeah I saved Zander's butt again." Marcus chuckled._

_"Hey I had it all under control ..." Zander began._

_"Hmmm .. sure you did ... sir." Marcus grinned._

_"Don't you have to be someplace" Zander remarked with a smirk._

_"Yeah ... right ... I got lots of paperwork to do at .. the warehouse. I'll go do that now." Marcus replied and left Zander and Emily alone together in the room._

_Emily looked over her husband's shoulder wound. "Is it bad? It looks bad." she remarked as she noticed the blood seeping through the white gauze bandage._

_"It's fine .. just a couple of stitches."_

_"You could of been killed, you know that" she scolded._

_"But I'm here, with you ... everything is fine."_

_"What about Jason"_

_"He's being tended to here at the hospital. He's going to be charged with a whole list of felonies, I'm sure. And ... Lorenzo, he's dead. Marcus ..."_

_"He saved your ass didn't he"_

_"Yeah he did. I owe him."_

_"I owe him too ..." she replied and pulled him to her in an embrace, but not before she gave him a kiss, thankful he was alive._

_"I love you so much, Zander ..."_

_"I love you too."_

_Zander pulled back from her noticing he was bleeding from the patch on his shoulder and he didn't want to get any on her. "I'm going to have my shoulder checked out. Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a little while" he asked concerned for her._

_"Yeah I'll be fine. Go get checked out. I'll feel alot better once you do."_

_He walked towards the door and turned his head back towards her. He gave her wink and then made a quick escape out the door. She laid back against the pillows and smiled._

_It was over, finally. Lorenzo was dead, Jason would be behind bars, they were no longer in danger. They could finally go back to living a normal life, as normal as the life they led would allow. The future was looking a lot better then it had, and she sighed as the stress she was feeling began to disappear. She could finally concentrate on the family and the new addition that would be making his appearance real soon._


	32. Chapter 32

_Zander sat on the end of the hospital gurney waiting for someone to tend to his gunshot wound. The gauze bandages that were wrapped around his upper arm were soaked with blood, the bleeding hadn't stopped. He could hear familiar voices coming from the other side of the drawn curtain, and as he waited, he was startled when the curtain was pushed back. He was surprised to see Mac standing there and his expression shown his discontent._

_"What do I owe this pleasure, Commissioner" Zander asked as Mac stepped towards him._

_"I heard you had an eventful night" Mac remarked as Zander reached his hand up and applied pressure to the wound in his arm._

_"This? Just a scratch." Zander remarked about his bullet wound._

_"Looks like a bullet wound to me. Care to tell me how you got it"_

_Before Zander could answer Mac's question, someone else did it for him. "No he doesn't." Alexis said as she stepped forward._

_Zander relieved to see her, he figured she'd be along any time, Ric was bound to call her, at least he had hoped. Alexis stepped towards Zander and stood next to him. She glanced at Zander to reassure him she was there to help him and that he shouldn't worry._

_"My client has nothing to tell you, Mac."_

_"It would be in your client's best interests to explain what happened right here, or do you want me to drag him down to the police station"_

_"Mac, the man is hurt, can't we get him looked at first" Alexis pointed out to the Commissioner._

_"Oh right, the scratch. Yeah get him looked at and to make sure his next stop is the police station, I'll just leave a few officers outside to make sure he gets there." Mac replied before leaving and drawing the curtain closed the way he found it._

_Alexis waited till Mac left, then turned her attention to Zander. "What happened this time"_

_"Didn't Ric tell you"_

_"No, Ric didn't tell me .. why don't you tell me." she ordered as she looked over at his blood soaked bandage._

_Zander about to tell Alexis what happened, but he was interrupted. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Zander." Bobbie said as she pulled back the curtain and stepped towards him with a metal tray in her hand._

_"I'll wait outside for you." Alexis excused herself and stepped out to wait for him._

_Bobbie tended to Zander's wounds and stitched it. She re-wrapped his arm and then cleaned up the mess she had made as he slid off the end of the gurney and thanked her. "You shouldn't have any trouble with it, but if you do, just come back and see us, okay" _

_"Thanks Bobbie. I'm sure it will be fine." Zander smiled and stepped out, only to be met with two police officers. Alexis came up to him quickly to save him from the officer's clutches._

_"May I talk to you a minute." Alexis smiled as she took a hold of Zander's arm and whisked him away from the officers._

_"I guess we should talk, huh"_

_"Yes we should if you want me to defend you in whatever kind of mess you're in now." Alexis replied._

_Alexis and Zander sat down in the waiting area as the officers looked on. "It's complicated." Zander answered as he and Alexis sat down on the couch together._

_"Well, let's try to explain it to me."_

_"The short version ... Jason's been stealing product from me, Lorenzo was trying to kill me. Someone took a shot at Emily earlier and I stormed off looking for him, thinking it was Jason. I get to the penthouse, and Lorenzo is waiting for me. Now I didn't know it was Lorenzo who was out to kill me, I was thinking it was Jason. Marcus called up to the apartment, said Jason was on his way up. The storm knocked out the power to the building and it went black. Jason shot Lorenzo in the shoulder, thinking it was me. Marcus came up the back way and saved my butt again. Marcus shot Lorenzo, Ric busted in the door and shot Jason in the shoulder. After it was over, the police had Jason in custody, he went for the officer's gun and shot me in the shoulder."_

_"So you never fired a shot at Jason nor at Lorenzo"_

_"Marcus fired the bullet that killed Lorenzo, but I should of taken Jason out when I had the chance."_

_"Emily"_

_"Yeah pretty much. Jason and she are close and I didn't want to take him away from her, she would of never forgiven me for that."_

_"So, he shot at you with a police issued weapon"_

_"Yeah, Ric saved my hide. Marcus called 911 after the police officers took Jason away in cuffs."_

_"So what started all this"_

_"Not what, who. Greg, I guess wanted to make a name for himself. I don't really know, Alexis."_

_"Well, where's Greg now"_

_"I took care of Greg."_

_"Oh ... okay well, we won't mention Greg then."_

_"Ric already knows about Greg and his involvement, I'm sure."_

_"Probably right about that. I'm sure you don't have to worry about Jason, he never says much of anything."_

_Zander chuckled. "Yeah, Jason just wants to see me dead so he can take the territory I got. Which is why 3 of my warehouses are no more and product has gone missing."_

_"Well, we'll have to make statement to Mac, he's not going to let up about this till you do."_

_"Yeah I know. Just not sure how I can without getting myself 10 to 20."_

_"Let me worry about that. Come on, there's no time like the present. Get this over with and you can spend the rest of the night with Emily."_

_Zander and Alexis left the lounge, followed close behind by the officers that Mac had instructed to bring Zander in to the PCPD. They all boarded the elevator and headed to the police station to make a statement._

_Alexis and Zander walked into the squad room, Mac and Ric waiting for them. Mac showed Alexis and her client the interrogation room for privacy. Ric followed close behind and closed the door after he was the last one into the room._

_"So ... ready to make that statement now" Mac asked as he laid down on the metal table a yellow legal pad and pen._

_"What do I get in return" Zander asked._

_"Now you want a deal too" Mac replied not believing Zander's request._

_"What my client means is that if he gives you a statement of what happened tonight, he doesn't want any charges filed against him." Alexis spoke up._

_"Tell us what happened and then we'll talk deals." Mac replied as he pushed the tablet and pen towards Zander._

_Zander and Alexis exchanged glances, she offered a shake of the head not to write a statement._

_"Okay ... let's start off with an easy question ..." Mac not able to finish his thought because he was interrupted._

_"Wait, do you want a statement or are you planning on interrogating my client, Mac"_

_"Well, he's not giving us the statement, Ms. Davis, so I guess we'll move to the next step which would be interrogation."_

_Zander looked once more to Alexis for answers. She leaned in and told him, he could answer questions that Mac had in mind, until she told him not to._

_"What's your question, Mac"_

_"Do you know this man, Zander" Mac asked as he pulled a mug shot from the file folder he was holding. He placed the photo face up and slid it towards Zander to look at._

_"You know I do Mac. It's one of my guards, Greg." Zander answered, unsure where Mac was going with this line of questions._

_"When was the last time you saw Greg" _

_"A few days ago, why"_

_"You're not at all concerned when one of your men doesn't show up for work" Mac pressed on for answers._

_"Look, Greg had some personal stuff going on, he took a few days off."_

_"Are you sure" Mac asked wanting to lead Zander into the answers Mac wanted to hear._

_"Where are you going with this Mac" Alexis stepped in. "Zander already told you that Greg asked for time off."_

_Mac laid down another photograph on the table, face up. This time a picture of Greg when they found him dead in his car a few miles outside of town._

_"So you have no idea how Greg ended up dead, do you"_

_"Don't answer that, Zander." Alexis instructed as she turned over the photograph of Greg behind the wheel of his car._

_"My client isn't answering anymore questions for you Mac, unless there is a deal somewhere on the table." she added and Mac turned and looked at Ric who stood off in the corner waiting for that moment._

_"Can we have a minute, Mac" Ric requested._

_Mac agreed with Ric's request and left the interrogation room, leaving Ric alone with Alexis and Zander. "Don't make me regret this ..." Ric said as he took a few steps towards the door of the interrogation room. Zander wondering what he meant._

_"You know you could lose your job because of this." Alexis said as she approached Ric._

_"Yeah I know, but I could of lost it numerous times before I didn't."_

_"You're willing to take that chance Ric" Alexis asked as she stood next to him._

_Zander stood up from his seat and approached them. "Care to let me in on what's going on"_

_Before he got an answer, Alexis had guided him out the door quickly. She didn't want tell Zander anything till they were outside of the PCPD and away from any ears that may be listening._

_"Now you want to tell what that was all about" Zander asked as the two of them stood on the steps of the police station._

_"You're brother is about to save your ass again, and this time he's risking everything to do it."_


	33. Chapter 33

_Zander and Alexis stood out on the stoop of the PCPD for a few moments, Zander deciding what to do next. He couldn't allow Ric to take the fall for him this time, Ric could lose the DA position over this, heck lose his license to practice law in NY. He couldn't let that happen._

_Zander stormed back into the squad room and saw Ric from across the room carrying an arm full of file folders, heading back to his office._

_"Ric! Wait" Zander called out to his brother and Ric stopped to wait for him._

_"I thought I told you ..." Ric said as Zander pulled him into the interrogation room to talk privately._

_"Yeah you did, but I can't let you do this Ric. I can't let you take this risk, I don't want to have this on my head, Ric."_

_Ric set down the paperwork on the table, and Zander noticed what the files contained as one flipped open accidentally. His name was on all of them and his eyes widened as he realized what Ric was planning on doing._

_"Ric, what were you going to do with these files" Zander asked and Ric realized that Zander had seen what they contained and quickly flipped closed the open folder._

_"Never you mind what I am going to do with them, the less you know the better."_

_"Okay, that's usually my line, so what gives" Zander questioned wanting to know what Ric's plans were._

_Ric sighed. "If you must know ... I'm making this all go away ... okay"_

_"No, it's not okay, Ric! I won't allow you to do this for me. I've done a lot of stuff in the last 5 years ... and every time you bail me out! I can't let you do it this time. This could very well cost you, your job"_

_"Yeah well, to see you finally safe and happy with your family, it will be worth it"_

_"No, Ric, it won't! I don't want you to have to give up your career for me! I never asked you to compromise your job Ric"_

_Ric cleared his throat and pulled out the immunity deal that laid on top of the pile. Zander saw what he pulled from the pile and took back what he said. "Okay just that once. But Ric, this is a major decision and something you shouldn't have to do. I'll do the time if I have to, Ric"_

_"No you're not .. now dammit let me do this for you ... Geesh" Ric replied and he gathered the files in his arms once more, and headed for the door to leave._

_Zander stopped Ric from leaving the room as he blocked Ric's path. "You are too good for this Ric! You're the good brother, remember? This is how it's always been ... I get into a jam and you clean up the mess ... well not anymore"_

_Ric saw something in Zander's eyes, something that hadn't been there before and he realized Zander was ready to take what ever punishment there was for this mess he had gotten himself into. Zander was right, he had always cleaned up after his brother, never allowing charges to be filed, keeping his ass out of jail the best he could. Zander this though, stepped up to the plate to save him for a change._

_Ric set the files back down on the table. "Tell me about Greg, tell me everything, if you're so willing to take the heat this time." Ric said just as Alexis walked in._

_"Zander .. don't tell him anything." she spoke up as she entered the room and closed the door._

_"Alexis, I have to. It's my only chance to clear this up."_

_"Look, we're all family here, right? We've been a part of each other's lives since the beginning ... I know we want to protect him Alexis, but this time ... I don't know if we can." Ric replied._

_"If he tells you everything, Ric ... Zander will be lucky to be out for his daughter's wedding! I have to defend and protect my client."_

_"I know but ..." Ric began but was interrupted._

_"Alexis ... I love you, you know that .. and you have been the best thing that has ever happened to me, with the exception of Emily. The two of you have stood by me through it all and you've taken the heat for me on more times than I care to count. But this time ... this time if I don't do this, Ric is going to throw away everything he has worked so hard for. I can't allow him to do that." Zander confessed his appreciation._

_Alexis leaned in to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You do what you think you have to, Zander. I'll stand by your decision."_

_"Thank you, Alexis." Zander spoke softly._

_"So ... are you going to get a statement here or not" Ric spoke up._

_"Yeah you are." Zander replied as he sat down at the long metal table, Alexis sitting down next to him._

_"Are you sure about this" she asked again._

_"Yeah I am, Alexis ... It's my only option. It's time I cleaned up my own mess."_

_She not sure what he meant by that but went along with his decision to make a statement about Greg and the dealings over the past 6 months._

_Ric sat down across from him and pushed across the table a yellow legal pad and the pen from his shirt pocket. Zander pulled the tablet towards him and Alexis snatched the pen before Zander's hand reached it._

_"I'm sorry, but if you want me to defend your actions here, I need some promises made for you." she said and Ric sighed knowing what was coming next._

_"Like what" Zander asked as Alexis and Ric exchanged looks._

_"Don't Alexis ... " Ric said knowing what she was about to ask even before she asked it._

_"Before he confesses to anything ... lay your cards out Mr. DA." she smirked as she looked over her black rimmed glasses._

_"No deals, Alexis" Zander replied upset with her for even trying to make a deal for him._

_"Yes deals, Zander! I told you before we sat down that I would stand by your decision to do this, but for Pete's sake let me defend you" she scolded._

_Zander sighed in defeat, he knew she'd get her way anyways, he caved early to save the time. "That's better." she grinned._

_"Alexis, it depends on what he tells me, I can't give you a blanket deal." Ric replied knowing that's what she was after._

_"Sure you can, Ric. Look, if Zander gives you what you want to know, and there's no charges to be filed on him then we'll save the deal for another time ... I'm sure there will be another mess and we'll need it." she smiled._

_Ric grinned. She knew darn well that he couldn't resist her charm and persuasive ways. "Okay ... because you know I can't resist your persuasive charm, I'll lay a deal out on the table."_

_Alexis grinned because she knew she had it in her to charm the pants off that man if she wanted. Zander snatched the pen back from Alexis's hand. Before he had a chance to write anything down, Ric grabbed the pen back from him._

_"Now what? Are you two going to let me do this or not" Zander now getting anxious to clear the air._

_"Forget writing to down, just tell me. I'll have to type up a report regardless. Besides the faster you tell me, the faster you can get out of here." Ric replied as he stuck the pen back in his shirt pocket._

_"What do you want to know" Zander sighed._

_"I want to know everything ... the dealings with Lorenzo, Jason ... and Greg." Ric replied as he leaned forward against the table. "And if you had anything to do with Lorenzo's bank statements being sent here to me."_

_"Bank statements, no sorry can't say that I can take credit for that one. You got bank statements"_

_"Yeah and a lot of money has been transferred, I mean a lot of money in and out of Lorenzo's account. I kinda figured they were transactions for the contracts he put out on you."_

_"I wouldn't doubt it. I have to give that man credit though, he is persistent."_

_"Don't give him too much credit, he almost succeeded." Ric replied._

_Zander and Alexis sat in the interrogation room with Ric a few hours as Zander told his brother everything that he knew about the dealings between Greg, Lorenzo and Jason. A weight had definitely lifted off his shoulders once he admitted to a few things he had initiated. As they sat and talked, Ric absorbing all the information Zander was giving him, there wasn't much Ric could charge Zander with, other then transportation and distribution of narcotics. And with the evidence missing from Zander's warehouse, it was just Zander's words Ric had against him. Jason was holding the evidence, and though Zander's shipment, it was in the possession of someone else, which left Zander off the hook._

_The hours passed and soon Ric stood up from his seat. He thanked his brother for his honesty and appreciated that Zander had told him what had happened in the penthouse before he got there. Zander saw that Ric was walking towards the door of the interrogation room and he opened up._

_"You're free to go ..." Ric said as he held the door open with his hand._

_"You're kidding right" Zander asked shocked that Ric was letting him go, even after all he confessed to._

_"No, I'm not kidding. I have nothing to hold you on. The shipments are no longer in your possession, and the shootout at the penthouse could be construed as self defense."_

_Zander stood up from his seat and walked towards his brother. "Thanks ... " Zander said as he stepped into the doorway._

_"Yeah, yeah ..." Ric grinned as Alexis brushed passed him._

_"Hey ..." Ric said as he gave a tug on Alexis's arm as she passed by. "Tell him to keep his nose clean ... okay."_

_"You try to tell him that ... but I'll try." she smiled._

_Zander and Alexis stepped out onto the stoop of the PCPD once more. The snow had just begun to fall lightly and Zander pulled his overcoat up and over the scruff of his neck._

_"You need a ride home" he asked Alexis._

_"No, I think I'll walk ..." she replied and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the offer though." She started walking down the stairs towards the side walk and he watched her from the top step._

_"Hey ... " he called out to her and she turned around towards him. She saw the look in his eyes and knew what he wanted to say .. but the look was all she needed. She smiled, turned and walked away, leaving him standing alone on the stairs._

_He gave a tug at his overcoat and pulled out his cell phone to make a call, the snow falling harder now then before, he took a few steps towards the side walk as the person he called answered._

_"Hey sweetheart ... I'm at the PCPD ... yeah everything's fine. I just wanted to hear your voice, that's all. I'll see you soon."_

_Marcus pulled the car up to the curb and Zander climbed into the backseat and closed the door, his coal black hair covered with snow, and he ran his fingers through it._

_"Where to, sir" Marcus asked from the driver's seat._

_"To hospital, Marcus ... I'm going to spend some time tonight with my wife."_


End file.
